Co-creation dynamics in a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). The case of the DARIAH-ERIC Working Groups.

This PhD research studies the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) and the research communities that take part in them. In particular, it examines the case study of the DARIAH-ERIC, the Research Infrastructure for the (digital) Arts and Humanities, and its Working Groups. These are communities of researchers gathered around similar research interests with the aim of providing concrete solutions to scholarly challenges. This research investigates collaborative practices taking place in the DARIAH Working Groups, by focussing on the epistemic and socio/political dynamics created by the interaction of practices and governance models proper of Research Infrastructures and Research Communities. Finally, this research asks, do Research Infrastructures encourage collaboration among researchers? In this research, I couple an institutional perspective - which has deeper roots in the field of Research Policy - with a research methodology (including ethnographic methods) originating in Science and Technology Studies and Philosophy of Science. Drawing on existing literature and empirical research, I identify the concept of co-creation as central in dynamics of knowledge creation in Research Infrastructures. Concluding, I argue that within Research Infrastructures, co-creation becomes societally and culturally relevant because of its crucial role in knowledge and technology transfer between stakeholders. As an example, the DARIAH Working Groups connect several actors, such as researchers, research managers, policymakers or citizens, from different disciplines and background, and provide an answer to concrete social or scholarly challenges.