Launch of a Call For Proposals: The Location of EGI.org

The EGI Design Study Policy Board invites National Grid Initiatives to place bids for the location of the new organization.

The EGI Design Study (EGI_DS) project aims at establishing a sustainable long-term grid infrastructure in Europe and at moving from the existing short term funded project structure to a sustainable service. The EGI_DS is financed by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme. It was launched in September 2007 and will continue until November 2009. It is planned that the EGI organization will be operational at the beginning of 2010. During the last months, EGI_DS has focused on writing the EGI Blueprint document, a proposal designed to determine how to establish a sustainable grid infrastructure. The next step for the project is to determine the best location for the EGI organization (EGI.org). 

The launch of this Call for Proposals invites National Grid Initiatives (NGI) and NGI-approved organizations to place bids for the long-term accommodation of the EGI.org central office which will permanently host up to 50 people. The office must be located in an EU Member State or in an EU associated state, and be available by January 2010. 

Furthermore, the bidder shall propose a legal form that will satisfy requirements as set out by the EGI_DS Policy Board. Given the international nature of the EGI.org, its central office should be easy to reach from most points in Europe and should also be able to provide facilities for meetings. Bidders are also asked to provide an overview of the applicable employment conditions, bearing in mind that staff will be recruited throughout Europe (EU Member States and also other European States). Additionally, EGI.org will have important cash flows within Europe, and bidders must therefore provide details regarding to the fiscal environment in which the EGI.org would operate.

“I am extremely pleased with the outcome of the recent EGI Policy Board. The unanimous decision to launch a call for proposals regarding the site of the EGI headquarters marks the first concrete step towards the implementation of EGI. In only a few weeks we will have an expression of interest in our hands from several European governments willing to host EGI. Thanks to this strong commitment, I am confident that we will be able to establish EGI well before the EGEE-III project finishes in May 2010. Together with the site we will select an EGI legal framework which will be based either on local national law or the new European Research Infrastructure legal framework, presently under discussion in Brussels.", says Guy Wormser (CNRS) who was in charge of the preparation of the Call for Proposals in the EGI_DS.

The Call for Proposals is open from the 1st of October 2008 until the 1st of December 2008. An announcement of short-listed candidates will be published on the 6th of February 2009.  It is planned that the selected location for the EGI.org will be announced by the EGI_DS Policy Board on the 2nd of March 2009.

Read the EGI Call for Proposals in detail:
http://www.eu-egi.eu/documents/other/call-for-proposals/

The EGI Blueprint:
http://www.eu-egi.eu/blueprint/

Contact point for the Call of Proposals:

Gaspar Barreira, EGI Policy Board Chairman: pb-chair@eu-egi.eu
Ludek Matyska, EGI_DS Project Director: contact@eu-egi.eu

 
More information of EGI and EGI Design Study:
http://www.eu-egi.eu
contact@eu-egi.eu

The EGI_DS has nine principal partners, CESNET, CERN, CNRS, CSC, DFN, GRNET, GUP, INFN and STFC, and is already endorsed by 38 National Grid Initiatives