Embedding the research infrastructure

Research infrastructures need to base their developments on a number of factors that go beyond the nature of data, however.   In order to become durable and useful over the long term, they must also find a way to position themselves at that perfect balance between being useful, and being too restrictive or narrow in how they can be used and by whom.  For this reason, infrastructures invest a lot of resource in defining and modelling their users and their requirements.  They may do this through research, but they may also build the user into their development process, using participatory or user-centred design approaches.  Above and beyond this, they must be very active in disseminating and promoting their services.  This can be as simple as ensuring the project name or web-address is appropriate for the potential user group, or as complex as hosting events and producing attractive user guides.  Research infrastructures must also be at the forefront of rethinking organisational and business models, often working in collaboration between research institutions, cultural heritage institutions, other projects to promote and sustain a high level of integration.