Policy Brief: Implementation of the Health Research and Innovation Cloud services

This Policy Brief outlines the inception and proposed structure of the Health Research and Innovation Cloud (HRIC), stemming from a 2018 European Commission initiative aimed at addressing challenges in health research developed in the HealthyCloud Coordination and Support Action. The document emphasizes the vision of coordination over the creation of new infrastructures. The HRIC is envisioned as a federated organization utilizing existing European structures to provide specialised services for research, innovation, and policy-making using health-related data. It identifies five key services, ranging from monitoring research landscapes to facilitating interactions with initiatives like the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and the European Health Data Space (EHDS). These services cater to diverse stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, and funders, with a focus on promoting effective health data use and re-use, interoperability and FAIR adoption, legal compliance, and integration with major European health data initiatives. The document advocates an incremental implementation approach to gauge requirements, pilot services, and ensure sustainability. Ultimately, HRIC aims to navigate the evolving European health data landscape to support research, innovation, and policymaking endeavors.