The International Conference on Research Infrastructures (ICRI) 2026 takes place from 2 to 4 December 2026 in Rome, hosted by the Italian National Research Council (CNR). ICRI is the flagship global forum for strategic dialogue and international cooperation on research infrastructures, bringing together scientists, policymakers, RI directors, funding organisations, and industry to shape the future of advanced facilities, services, and data ecosystems.
The 2026 edition runs under the theme “Bridging Science, Society and Diplomacy through Research Infrastructures,” with two cross-cutting programme themes:
- Research Infrastructures as Drivers of Socio-Economic Impact — exploring how RIs contribute to research and innovation, regional and global development, public services, workforce skills, and societal benefits, and how those contributions can be measured and communicated.
- Research Infrastructures as Instruments of Science Diplomacy — examining how RIs enable international collaboration and shared platforms for global scientific responses, particularly in a complex geopolitical context.
The first morning of ICRI 2026 is dedicated to the launch of the 2026 ESFRI Roadmap, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures’ periodic update of priority pan-European facilities. ICRI’s opening session follows in the afternoon, with breakout sessions running across days two and three, and site visits to research infrastructures on the closing afternoon.
ICRI has been hosted across continents since its inception, including Copenhagen (2012), Athens (2014), Cape Town (2016), Vienna (2018), Ottawa (2021, virtual), Brno (2022), and most recently Brisbane (2024). The Brisbane edition was hosted by GERI partner TERN.
GERI is structurally relevant to ICRI’s agenda: the federation is itself an example of cross-border research infrastructure cooperation, exactly the kind of model ICRI’s diplomacy theme addresses.
Pre-registration is open via the ICRI 2026 website, with full registration details to follow.
Header photo: “ICRI 2026 / CNR”