Towards a comprehensive user strategy for Integrated Research Infrastructures advancing environmental science: Insights from the ITINERIS project

The document is a short EGU 2025 abstract describing the ITINERIS project, an Italian initiative that integrates environmental Research Infrastructures across atmospheric, marine, terrestrial, and geospheric domains. It argues that—amid interconnected climate, environmental, and socio-economic crises—Research Infrastructures need a dynamic, user-driven strategy to maximize scientific and societal impact. ITINERIS is developing this strategy through surveys, stakeholder consultations, and desk research to assess user needs and the maturity of partners’ access and engagement policies. Early findings point to strong potential for harmonizing access frameworks, improving data accessibility, enabling interdisciplinary collaboration, and continuously updating user profiles to tailor services and standardize physical/remote/virtual access. A key enabler will be a digital platform providing access to data, tools, and facilities, with additional efforts to broaden accessibility for third-sector actors, schools, and municipalities.