D 7.1 TA and RA Process

Well-designed operational and administrative processes are needed to offer Transnational Access (TA) and Remote Access (RA) in the framework of the eLTER PLUS project. TA refers to in-person, physical, hands-on work by users at one or more of the eLTER sites involved in the scheme, whereas RA refers to measurement or experimental protocols defined by users and performed by site staff on their behalf. eLTER PLUS also offers Virtual Access (VA) to its data which is, however, not subject of the present document.

User groups who are offered TA and RA receive technical/scientific support and also financial reimbursement. To take part in the scheme, the users must meet the criteria defined for eligi- bility and results dissemination. The operational process of providing TA and RA contains the process steps:

(1) Call for proposals,
(2) Submission and file management, (3) Eligibility check,
(4) Plausibility check by site owners, (5) Scientific evaluation,
(6) Selection of projects,
(7) Notification, and
(8) Reporting after TA/RA is completed.

Annexes of the document are the templates provided to users for their proposals and project reporting, the template provided to the evaluators of the TA/RA proposals and the document eLTER PLUS TA Administration for Site Owners.