The Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences: Enabling data-intensive life science research in the Netherlands

Abstract

We describe a new national organisation in scientific research that facilitates life scientists with technologies and technological expertise in an era where new projects often are data-intensive, multi-disciplinary, and multi-site. The Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences (DTL, www.dtls.nl ) is run as a lean not-for-profit organisation of which research organisations (both academic and industrial) are paying members. The small staff of the organisation undertakes a variety of tasks that are necessary to perform or support modern academic research, but that are not easily undertaken in a purely academic setting. DTL also represents the Netherlands in the ELIXIR ESFRI, and the office supports this task. The organisation is still being fine-tuned and this will probably continue over time, as it is crucial for this kind of organisation to adapt to a constantly changing environment. However, already being underway for several years on the path to professionalisation, our experiences can benefit researchers in other fields or other countries setting up similar initiatives.