Perspective for an Innovative Service Catalogue on Neuroscience and Role of the Research Infrastructure Manager

Abstract

The present study provides case-study evidence aimed at advancing both empirical knowledge and theory development on the Pipeline-as-a-Service (PaaS) technological model as an enabling perspective for research infrastructures. The case-study is the Italian Research Infrastructure for brain research “EBRAINS-Italy”, funded by the NextGenerationEU and National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) in Italy. Adopting an inductive case-study research design, the study develops a novel approach to Service Catalogue architecture tailored to complex, data-intensive research environments and clinical and ethical implications. The Service Catalogue constitutes a core governance mechanism of research infrastructures, as it offers a structured and formal representation of available services, including their scope, interfaces, and operational characteristics. Building on these insights, the paper proposes an approach to Service Catalogue Management (SCM) that leverages an existing Service-as-a-Service (SaaS) implementation and outlines its evolution toward a Pipeline-as-a-Service (PaaS) model. Within this governance framework, the Research Infrastructure Manager (RIM) emerges as a key strategy.