GDI D2.2 - Infrastructure cost report

In the context of Work package 2, this report follows the work in the D2.1 report First analysis of cost elements for the setup of 1MG infrastructure, which was focused on identifying the different cost items that go into building and running the 1+MG infrastructure, both on a national node level and at a central hub level. 

In this deliverable, it is assumed that the infrastructure will be based on a European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC). The identified cost items are compiled into a budget that includes implementation, operations and maintenance costs over a ten-year period – for the central activities. However, it should be noted from a ten year budget perspective, given the level of complexity in an area that changes all the time – the budget shall only be considered a baseline and indicative – particularly for years 6 through 10.  

For the local activities, only budgeting guidelines are given, since the actual cost on local level is dependent on the amount of data managed, used and shared by the infrastructure and since the level of connection and synergy with existing national infrastructure components will vary a lot across different countries. The focus has been on assessing how many FTEs of personnel will be needed to get a basic service layer into production, and which known costs that will incur – particularly on the storage and risk management part. 

This report will give the reader the first overview of the financial obligations for a country in becoming a member of the EDIC. In this report, the assumption is that the costs of the central operation will be distributed across member countries based on the individual countries GDP level. While this is only the first iteration of the budget and cost distribution, it should provide an indication of the expected size of the general membership fee. 

Below are some key messages, derived from the report. The reader should consider that the findings and the report are the first iteration, and will likely be corrected in the course of this project.

Key messages: 

Central costs

• The indicative central budget increases from 700.000 EUR in the first year of operation to 4.5 MEUR in the 10th year, with a relatively quick buildup phase in the first five years.

• A budget of 325.000 EUR has been allocated for the two years preceding the formation of the EDIC, in order to have dedicated staff in place to drive the progress towards implementation of the EDIC .

• The Cost distribution key between countries is based on National Net Income + a flat rate fee of 25.000 EUR, as suggested by the EDIC Task Force.   

• The indicative  contribution per country is based on an assumed number of member states joining as founding members. 

• Currently there are no financial provisions that would incentivise countries to join early - or vice versa financial provisions that would allow some of the development costs to be recovered from countries joining later. 

National costs

• Storage: The cost for storing the data comes to 14-16 EUR per whole genome sequence. 

• Indicatively if in a country 0,4 % of the population is sequenced every year, total storage costs could be 60.000 EUR per million citizen accumulated each year 

• In order to operate a national node each country can expect to need to allocate 5-8 FTE’s (Full-Time Equivalent) to provide minimal services to a limited number of users. The number of people needed will grow further when the infrastructure starts onboarding significant data and running many research projects, which will also require increased compute capacity - please consult the D2.1 report for further discussion on these subjects.  

• To perform a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and set up a local Risk management system that can be audited and/or certified according to international standards and subject to NIS2, each country will likely need to make a one-time investment of 100.000-500.000 EUR for external consultants, and allocate 12-24 PMs (Person-Months) internally to succeed. 1-2 FTE’s and around 30.ooo EUR should be allocated on a permanent basis to support risk management (these figures are subject to national cost level, the complexity of operations and existing structures)

• The EDIC depends on national structures for data subject information portal and consent registration.