Guidelines on Cost Estimation of Research Infrastructures.

Abstract

These guidelines are developed in the framework of the StR-ESFRI project (Support to Reinforce the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures), to provide a conceptual and methodological tool for cost estimation of Research Infrastructures (RIs) included (or willing to be) in the ESFRI Roadmap. The report provides a unified framework to gather data concerning costs along life cycle of RIs in a harmonized way. It illustrates general principles and suggests technical solutions when data seem not immediately available or difficult to estimate. It also takes into account the specificities of different typologies of RIs, which are active in different research domains and adopt different accounting systems. The main audience of these guidelines is RI senior managers who are responsible for financial planning and long-term sustainability of the RI; however, some technical expertise may be needed to implement the methodology (e.g. head of finance). The common cost accounting methodology presented in these guidelines is based on the best international practice in the field of infrastructure project appraisal, allowing comparability across different types of RIs, countries and scientific fields and it is inspired by solid principles leading to univocally interpretable results.