EOSC Core Innovation Sandbox Opens to First Set of External Providers: Test and Integrate Your Solutions with EOSC
Following successful testing with internal EOSC Nodes, the EOSC Core Innovation Sandbox — a pre-production environment for testing and staging services within the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) — is now welcoming its first group of external providers to participate in evolving the technical structure of the next phase of the EOSC Federation.
From Pilot Nodes to External Collaboration
Since Q3 2024, the Sandbox has been instrumental for Pilot EOSC Nodes within the EOSC Beyond project, enabling them to validate integrations, refine workflows, and stress-test federated capabilities. Building on their feedback and lessons learned, Q2 2025 marks a milestone: external service providers, research communities, and infrastructure operators can now request access to the Sandbox to trial their use cases in a controlled, pre-production environment.
Nicola Fiore, EOSC Beyond Technical Coordinator (EGI Foundation), emphasised:
“We are pleased to open the Sandbox to external collaborators. Whether you’re a service provider, a research community, or an infrastructure operator, this is your opportunity to test integrations, experiment with EOSC’s federated tools, and ensure seamless deployment in production. We encourage all interested parties to contact us via the dedicated form, outlining their testing goals and needs.”
What Can You Achieve in the Sandbox?
The EOSC Core Innovation Sandbox provides a secure staging area to:
- Integrate with EOSC Federation Tools: Test compatibility with federated capabilities like AAI, the Federated Resource Catalogue, Helpdesk, and Application Workflow Management.
- Automate Deployments: Leverage easy-to-use connectors and software libraries to streamline technical integrations.
- Validate New Services: Assess how your resources (data, compute, tools) align with EOSC standards before going live.
- Explore Next-Gen Features: Experiment with advanced EOSC Core components developed in EOSC Beyond, such as the Execution Framework and Integration Suite.
Who Should Apply?
- Service Providers: Test publishing data, offering cloud resources, or deploying tools in EOSC.
- Research Communities: Validate workflows (e.g., structural biology pipelines) and assess EOSC’s capabilities for your domain.
- Infrastructure Operators: Trial new EOSC Node setups or interoperability strategies.
Technical experts from the EOSC Beyond consortium will provide tailored support throughout your testing journey.
How to Get Started
- Visit the EOSC Core Innovation Sandbox page.
- Submit a request via the contact form, briefly describing:
- Your organisation/community.
- Your use case (e.g., “Setting up a climate modeling node” or “Testing FAIR data publication workflows”).
- Technical requirements or support needed.
- Selected providers will receive access credentials and onboarding guidance.