The EBRAINS National Node Network: Connecting European neuroscience for a joint future

INTRODUCTION The EBRAINS Research Infrastructure [1,2] offers an ecosystem of data, tools, and resources for neuroscience research. EBRAINS accommodates heterogeneous, multilevel data that are carefully curated and made findable and interoperable through structured metadata and connected to digital brain atlases and computational resources for exploration and analysis. EBRAINS was delivered by the Human Brain Project (2013-2023) [3], with several follow-up projects contributing to operating, maintaining and developing the core infrastructure and distributed services. Providing novel solutions for sharing, integration and analysis of data [4], EBRAINS has opened new avenues for the field of neuroscience. In 2021 EBRAINS was added to the ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures) roadmap, initiating efforts to configure EBRAINS for the future. To establish a sustainable future for EBRAINS, a scientific, technical, financial, legal and governance framework is now being developed. METHODS The hub-node structure of EBRAINS was established in 2019, with seven founding member institutions forming the EBRAINS AISBL as a legal entity. Services are provided through a distributed network of National Nodes offering scientific expertise, software, services, and support. The EBRAINS PREP project (2022-2025) defined an organizational framework with statutes, business plan, technical design, and formal agreements, connecting EBRAINS nodes into a consortium dedicated to providing services and contributing to the development of EBRAINS. The EBRAINS 2.0 project is improving, automating, and monitoring services, as well as onboarding new services. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Through the EBRAINS PREP project, the National Nodes developed governance and financial models formalizing the nodes internally with mandates for signing national node agreements and contributing membership fees. The National Node Agreements, signed in 2025, regulate the collaborative work, to facilitate the operation and development of EBRAINS and expand the panEuropean EBRAINS user base to increase scientific exchange and advancement. The EBRAINS PREP project delivered updated formal policy documents regulating activities, as well as updated catalogues of services, tools, and training resources. To ensure seamless operation services, new service onboarding and monitoring routines were developed, defining core services and distributed operational services, together with agreements regulating service levels and commitment to support. The National Node Board serves as a liaison between the EBRAINS and distributed user communities, coordinating the National Nodes to facilitate service onboarding and provisioning, collaborative training efforts and outreach to recruit new users and expand the national node network to new member states. Finally, following the inclusion of EBRAINS in the ESFRI 2021 roadmap, the choice was made to develop EBRAINS towards becoming a European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC), as a multi-country collaboration delivering an extensive portfolio of digital research tools and services for neuroscience. The EBRAINS hub-node network, with a defined governance structure underpinned by formal agreements, policies, and procedures, provides a foundation for the further development of a financial, legal and governance framework suitable for implementing EBRAINS as an EDIC. To achieve this ambition and secure a longer-term sustainable future for EBRAINS, it is necessary to describe how EBRAINS can operate as an EDIC, with a suitable governance structure and a suite of service offerings needed by the brain research community. The National Nodes are central to this endeavour, connecting national user communities with EBRAINS services, maintaining interoperability with other research infrastructures, and contributing to community engagement and matching services to needs and trends across the European neuroscience landscape.