Consortium partners discuss the future of register-based research.

The general assembly of the FIRE (The Finnish Infrastructure for Register-Based Research) research infrastructure project brought together consortium partners and invited experts at the University of Turku to discuss the future of register-based research.

At the end of last year, theResearch Council of Finland granted roadmap funding for research infrastructures to FIRE, which originates from the research flagship INVEST. FIRE is a remote access service, an application environment, and a training platform that supports and advances register-based research in Finland.

Register-based research has been a key competitive advantage for Finland, but international developments have been moving forward rapidly. FIRE is now building an internationally competitive research infrastructure based on Statistics Finland’s FIONA system.

The first general assembly featured an inspiring keynote speech by Kasia Karpinska, the Scientific Manager of ODISSEI (Open Data Infrastructure for Social Science and Economic Innovations) in the Netherlands. During the brake Kasia Karpinska discussed with the leader of FIRE and INVEST Research Flagship, professor Jani Erola.

In the future, FIRE will provide a state-of-the-art computing environment and a catalog of register-based datasets, excelling in technical quality, usability, security, and its ability to support high-impact research. While FIRE primarily serves social sciences, behavioral sciences, and health sciences, its impact extends widely across all scientific disciplines and decision-making.