eLTER EnRich Deliverable D1.1 - Report on mapped workflows in period 1

Bridging phases towards the Integrated European LongTerm Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research Infrastructure Report on mapped workflows in period 1 Deliverable D1.1 3 July 2025 Vladimiro Andrea Boselli1, Carmela Marangi2, Cosimo Grippa2, Hanna Koivula3, Johannes Peterseil4, Ulf Mallast5, Martin Abbrent5, Tomáš Rebok6, André Sonntag7 1CNR-IREA, Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico dell’Ambiente, Italy 2CNR-IAC, Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo "Mauro Picone", Italy 3CSC - IT Center for Science, Finland 4Environment Agency Austria, Austria, 5UFZ, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH - UFZ, Germany 6MUNI, Masarykova Univerzita, Czechia 7UNITY, Aktiengesellschaft Fur Unternehmensfuhrung Und Informationstechnologie, Germany 2 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ Prepared under contract from the European Commission Grant agreement ID: 101131751 EU Horizon Europe Project acronym: eLTER EnRich Project full title: eLTER EnRich - Bridging phases towards the Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research Infrastructure Start of the project: Mar 2024 Duration: 36 months Project coordinator: Michael Mirtl HELMHOLTZ-ZENTRUM FUR UMWELTFORSCHUNG GMBH – UFZ, Germany https://elter-ri.eu/elter-enrich Deliverable title: Report on mapped workflows in period 1 Deliverable n°: D1.1 Nature of the deliverable: Report Dissemination level: Public Citation: Boselli, V., Marangi, C., Grippa C., Koivula, H., Peterseil J. Mallast, U., Abbrent, M., Reebok, T., Sonntag, A. (2025). Report on mapped workflows in period 1. Deliverable D1.1 EU Horizon Europe eLTER EnRich Project, Grant agreement No. 101131751. Deliverable status: Version Status Date Author(s) 1.0 Draft 18 September 2024 Vladimiro Andrea Boselli (CNR-IREA), Carmela Marangi (CNR-IAC), Hanna Koivula (CSC) D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 3 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ 2.0 V1 8 May 2025 Vladimiro Andrea Boselli (CNR-IREA), Carmela Marangi (CNR-IAC), Hanna Koivula (CSC) 3.0 Final 03 July 2025 Vladimiro Andrea Boselli (CNR-IREA), Carmela Marangi (CNR-IAC), Cosimo Grippa (CNR-IAC), Hanna Koivula (CSC), Johannes Peterseil (EAA), Ulf Mallast (UFZ), Martin Abbrent (UFZ), Tom Rebok (MUNI), André Sonntag (Unity) The content of this deliverable does not necessarily reflect the official opinions of the European Commission or other institutions of the European Union. 4 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ Table of contents Summary 7 1. Introduction 8 1.1. Project context: the legacy of eLTER PLUS and eLTER PPP 10 1.2. eLTER RI Cyberinfrastructure 12 1.3. eLTER Service Portfolio 13 2. Formalization of the service knowledge base: the ArchiMate framework 15 2.1. Defining components and layers 15 2.2. Layers 16 2.3. Actors and roles 18 2.4. Building the workflows for “Data management & integration”: setting the scene 19 3. Thematic Service Area: Data Management and Integration 21 3.1. Motivations 21 3.2. Value proposition and value chain 24 3.3. The eLTER Data Lifecycle 26 3.4. Site registration and cataloguing 28 3.5. Access to Site Data 29 3.6. Data ingestion and quality assurance 30 3.7. Information Clusters 31 3.8. Data use statistics 32 4. Thematic Service Area: Optimal Design and RI interoperability 35 4.1. Motivations 35 4.2. Establishment and continuous updating of eLTER Standard Observations with related methods and protocols 36 4.3. Contributing to the site selection and labelling service 37 4.4. Technical consultation for new eLTER RI members on site locations and requirements 40 5. Conclusions and steps forward 41 6. References 42 D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 5 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ Acronyms 3PDP 3rd Party Data Provider CI Cyberinfrastructure CDN Central Data Node DAR Digital Asset Registry DEIMS-SDR Dynamic Ecological Information Management System - Site and dataset registry DiV Discovery and Visualisation tool DOI Digital Object Identifier DP Data Provider DS Data Steward DU Data User eDM eLTER Data Manager eLTER DiV eLTER Data and Integrated Visualisations eLTER CDN eLTER Central Data Node eLTER PPP eLTER Preparation Phase Project eLTER PLUS Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research infrastructure Advanced Community project eLTER RI eLTER Research Infrastructure eLTER CL Vocab eLTER Controlled Lists Vocabulary eLTER SO Vocab eLTER Standard Observation Vocabulary ENVRI European Environmental Research Infrastructures EnvThes Environmental Thesaurus EO Earth Observation FAIR Findable Accessible Interoperable and Reusable HO Head Office IC Interim Council ICT Information and Communication Technology MVP Minimum Viable Product NRI National Research Institution ORCID Open Researcher and Contributor ID PID Persistent Identifier RA Remote Access 6 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ SE System Engineering SO Standard Observation SP Service Portal SPI Site Principal Investigator TC Topic Centre TOGAF The Open Group Architecture Framework TSA Thematic Service Area TA Transnational Access D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 7 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ Summary A key goal of the eLTER EnRich project is to create a comprehensive framework for the future implementation of the eLTER Research Infrastructure (RI). This framework is fundamentally based on adopting a Systems Engineering Approach to design and implement the delivery of the RI's services. The project follows an Agile development methodology, where a so-called skeleton infrastructure is first implemented to demonstrate a minimum viable eLTER cyberinfrastructure covering the minimum requirements that allow the research infrastructure to start providing services to stakeholders. At the same time, the project will explore how to prioritise the enrichment of the skeleton with more advanced features as plans crystallise during the process. This approach will support decision-making by evaluating various opportunities and pathways for connecting stakeholder needs, user requirements, technical solutions, and the distribution of services among hosting organisations. An initial step in developing an operational framework involves streamlining the knowledge generated in the eLTER PPP and eLTER PLUS projects. The knowledge base established in these projects covers numerous aspects essential for the RI's construction, including stakeholder mappings, feedback from the eLTER community, and an initial outline of a potential service portfolio. Additionally, some conceptual data workflows related to Standard Observations and high-level data products enrich the legacy of these projects. Building on this foundation, the objective of the present document is to focus on services identified and selected as priority services by the Interim Council, the RI’s decision-making body, and to outline the necessary workflows required for their delivery. By employing the Systems Engineering Approach, we map the workflows needed to provide these key services in standardised, actionable, machine-readable formats to inform the overall System Engineering setup and implementation planning. This mapping process includes detailed documentation of the steps, roles, and responsibilities required to support specific end-to-end workflows. Users' requirements thereby define the necessary RI functions and information flows, which are evaluated to derive appropriate solutions. These solutions then guide the implementation planning for integrating other infrastructure capabilities and determine the final distribution of service-hosting organisations. This document combines information associated with different views of a selection of services identified as ‘core’ services. That includes the stakeholders’ perspective and the main business roles necessary for the implementation of the service provision, linking the service workflows to the main components and functionalities of the eLTER Cyberinfrastructure (CI). The workflow representation is provided with the appropriate level of detail to serve the purposes of both the System Architecture planning and the technical design of the CI. It serves as a blueprint for the Cyberinfrastructure team to design the System Architecture, aligning the ICT infrastructure with service-oriented aspects according to the overall eLTER strategy for the RI construction. We aimed to provide sufficient detail to support effective collaboration with the Cyberinfrastructure team while allowing for enough flexibility to account for changes in services and infrastructure structure motivated by different service hosting solutions. 8 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction eLTER EnRich aims to make a significant contribution to the eLTER ESFRI process by bridging the gap between the preparatory and operational phases of RI construction. eLTER EnRich capitalises on the legacy of many projects, the most advanced ones being eLTER PPP and eLTER PLUS1. These two projects have been working in parallel since 2020 to set the foundations of the eLTER RI. A first milestone by eLTER PLUS a and eLTER PPP has been achieved with the adoption of the eLTER vision in 2021 by 19 countries represented by ministerial delegations in the eLTER Interim Council: “eLTER RI (the integrated European Long-term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research Infrastructure) is a pan-European research infrastructure dedicated to long-term multidisciplinary ecosystem studies, filling a major gap identified in the environmental RIs (ENV-RIs) landscape. eLTER responds to the challenge of understanding the complex interactions between humans and nature over the long term. Environmental sustainability can only be achieved on the basis of robust knowledge and empirical evidence needed to identify and mitigate human impacts on ecosystems and to understand how ecosystems can support a future resilient society. eLTER catalyses scientific discovery and insight through its state-of-the-art research infrastructure, collaborative working culture and transdisciplinary expertise. This enables the development and application of evidence-based solutions for the well-being of present and future generations.” The vision provides a clear hint into the complexity of this endeavour and the amplitude and diversification of the knowledge base that RI will contribute to build, manage and share. Over the past four years, the two projects have played a pivotal role in defining the content and delineating the boundaries of this knowledge base, which encompasses all ecosystem spheres (geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and socio-sphere) and integrates data and information from a multitude of sources. A key challenge in implementing the eLTER Research Infrastructure (RI) is delivering a range of services provided to the user community. These services are designed based on specific objectives and processes that need to be clearly defined. This clarity is essential for the eLTER Cyberinfrastructure to effectively integrate the necessary technologies and ensure their successful implementation. The process hinges on two essential features: it must be i) iterative and ii) leverage modularity to better adapt to the continuously evolving definitions of roles, tasks, and responsibilities of the organisations applying to host the RI services. The EnRich project follows the Agile2 methodology, which divides the project into manageable phases. In this approach, solutions are designed, developed, and tested through iterative cycles, where each stage, or "sprint", generates feedback for improvements in the next iteration. The ultimate goal is to build a “skeleton-infrastructure”—a minimum viable product—capable of delivering an initial set of services, defined as Core Services, and later the Other Services (Mallast et al, 2024), while also leaving space for further development to enrich the future RI services with more advanced features in this fast-developing landscape. The main objective of this report is to contribute to the implementation of this iterative process by providing a consistent mapping of the workflows of the services, i.e. a representation of the processes to be executed to provide those services. In the followings, we use the term “service workflow” to identify the representation of what is more often defined as a “business process3”, i.e the sequence of steps or tasks required to complete a process, consisting of multiple workflows, and often involving both human and automated actions. The mapping of the service workflows is key to a sound and service-oriented4 system 4 https://www.opengroup.org/soa/source-book/intro/index.htm 3https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/workflow#:~:text=A%20workflow%20is%20a%20system%20for%20managing,pro cessing%20information%20or%20any%20other%20value%2Dgenerating%20activity. 2 https://agilemanifesto.org/ 1 https://elter-ri.eu/projects D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 9 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ architecture design, but also links the development of both the service portfolio and the cyberinfrastructure. The need to carefully design service workflows relies on the critical role it plays in understanding the structure and functioning of eLTER services. The service workflows help identify not only which service elements are involved and the technical infrastructure they rely on but also define the processes that support service delivery — including roles, responsibilities, and tasks. Furthermore, they can be used to map the dependencies across different services, Topic Centres, and third-party providers. This comprehensive view is essential to ensure that the various components of the eLTER service landscape are well-coordinated and operate as seamlessly as possible. Beyond supporting service alignment, service workflows are also key to system engineering efforts — particularly in preparing for potential challenges and risks during the transition to the operational RI phase as ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium). Since the final composition of member countries is still unknown, their financial contributions remain uncertain. This uncertainty has direct implications for available budget, which in turn could affect service levels, result in the scaling back of certain services, or even lead to the discontinuation of some offerings. Moreover, the risk exists that potential service providers may withdraw from the process before the establishment of the eLTER RI as ERIC, due to strategic shifts, funding issues, or other unforeseen reasons. Service workflow specifications enable eLTER to assess which other services might be affected by such changes and to understand the knock-on effects. This allows for proactive planning, scenario simulation, and the identification of mitigation strategies to ensure continuity and resilience of the overall infrastructure, even under constrained or changing conditions. 16 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Formalization of the service knowledge base: the ArchiMate framework ArchiMate is an open, independent Enterprise Architecture standard (Lankhorst M. et al, 2017) that supports the description, analysis, and visualisation of architecture across business domains. It is hosted by The Open Group and fully aligned with TOGAF. ArchiMate helps stakeholders evaluate the impact of design decisions and changes. In our case the “Enterprise” whose architecture we want to address is the Research Infrastructure to be analysed in its capability to provide services to a wide range of stakeholders. In doing so we aim also to harmonise the service provision, in particular with respect to data services, to the ENVRI Reference Model (de la Hidalga et al, 2020). In the description of the ENVRI Reference Model it is stated that “Research Infrastructures are often complex distributed systems. Describing their structure and external properties is required to understand and manage these systems. When the system description concentrates on the distillation of general principles, it is called architecture. However, if the description is presented in a way that is useful for the derivation of a whole family of systems, it is called a framework. Hence, when describing a system supporting a broad range of applications, it is common to talk of an architectural framework. In this sense, the ENVRI Reference Model is an architectural framework for the design of a distributed system for environmental research infrastructures.” Although the construction of the architectural framework of eLTER RI is also demanded for other tasks within EnRich project, in the present report we strive to be consistent with the key concepts and terminology adopted within the ENVRI Reference Model, by embedding the semantics of the Reference Model into the ArchiMate ontology, as described in the following sections. 2.1. Defining components and layers In enterprise architecture modelling, understanding the fundamental components and their relationships is essential for effective design, analysis, and communication across business, application, and technology domains. The ArchiMate5 language (Hosiaisluoma., 2022) offers a robust framework for describing these components through a structured, service-oriented framework. This framework organises the architecture into distinct layers, each focusing on a specific aspect of the enterprise while maintaining a consistent connection to other layers. These layers allow for a clear division of concerns, facilitating better management and alignment between business goals, cyberinfrastructure, and operational systems. Within these layers, key entities such as actors, roles, services, products, and nodes operate. Actors and roles represent the active participants in various layers, while services and products signify what is offered or produced. Additionally, entities and nodes function as structural components that house or carry out processes. Understanding how these components interact within and across layers enables stakeholders to model, analyse, and adapt enterprise architecture in response to business requirements and technological changes. Figure 4 provides an overview of the key elements of the framework grouped according to different information layers they belong to. A colour coding facilitated the reading of the schema. This chapter introduces and defines a unified language for representing the various layers, actors, services, products, and structural elements, along with their relationships, within the ArchiMate schema. This common framework is essential for capturing and managing the complexity of the eLTER project, allowing for a clear and consistent depiction of its enterprise architecture. 5 ArchiMate® 3.2, Open Group, 2022. https://pubs.opengroup.org/architecture/archimate32-doc/. D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 17 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 4. Overview of the ARCHIMATE schema (Hosiaisluoma, 2022). 2.2. Layers In the ArchiMate schema, certain layers are predefined. In this subchapter, we aim to create a dictionary that translates and organises the work done so far in the eLTER ICT development into the ArchiMate language model. This also enable translating from the ArchiMate layers back to the eLTER context, ensuring alignment between the two. In Figure 5 shows the different layer categories in ArchiMate language which are further described in Table 2. Here we also provide the mapping to the terminology used in the eLTER context. In the following chapters of the report on the reference of the layers we refer to the terminology used for the eLTER layers. 18 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 5. The characterization of layers within the ArchiMate schema. In order top-down: Other, Business, Application, Technology, Physical, Motivation, Implementation & Migration Table 2: Correspondence table between ArchiMate and ENVRI layers and eLTER layers. ArchiMate Layer eLTER Layer ENVRI Description Components Other Other Groupings, Course of Actions, Capabilities, Resources Groups of things, Actions Business Services Science Human Components of Services Actors, Roles Business Services Information Internal and external services such as Data Upload, Quality Check, Data Access Processes, Actions, Products, Contracts, Services Application Applicatio n Computation al All the interfaces needed to carry out the Services that interface with ICT User Interfaces, APIs Technology ICT Engineering All the software part of eLTER CI, middleware Software, Software Processes, Software Elements, Nodes, Networks Physical Physical Technology All the hardware part of eLTER CI such as servers, sensors, instruments, local terminals Hardware, Sampling Tools, PCs D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 19 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ Motivation Vision Viewpoint specification e.g. System and context The principle, the philosophy and the vision guiding all projects and it sub-processes Stakeholder, Goals, Outcomes, Visions, Principles, Values Implementatio n & Migration Evolution All the processes granting the possibility of keeping eLTER CI capable of change itself and adapt to new challenges WPs, Deliverables, Implementation Events 2.3. Actors and roles In this section, we identify the main roles who can interact with eLTER CI and serve as functional categories for how the actors engage with the system. Notably, an actor can assume multiple roles, and a role can be filled by various actors. For instance, a researcher involved in the project might take on the role of data provider for eLTER CI while also using the platform as a User. While the User role is accessible to all actors, some roles are restricted to specific actor types. In Table 3 we illustrate these correspondences. Table 3: Roles according to D10.3 Plus, with 3rd Party roles in addition. Group Role Role Description Data User Unregistered User Main (external) actors using and accessing datasets and data products. Depending on the registration the access to data might be for browsing and visualize (unregistered) or for downloading (registered) Registered User Researcher User/Provider Researchers have a dual role in eLTER RI: they may provide data and knowledge and/or use the RI data and services, whether they are members of the eLTER community or not Data (Collector and )Provider Site Principal Investigator (SPI) Are the main investigators at the eLTER facilities implementing the observations, recommendations, and requirements of the eLTER SO standard protocols and methods. 3rd Party Data Provider (3PDP) Are all 3rd party platforms contributing in collecting and organizing observations, generally following their own protocols and standards. (e.g. NasaPower, NOAA, NAOC, Citizen Scientists etc.) Data Steward DS Local (eLTER Facility) Actors running and coordinating the process of creating, organising, and maintaining datasets to enable usability and accessibility (e.g., ensure consistency of metadata). This can be, depending on the organisation level of the eLTER facility, related to the scientific personnel or done by dedicated local data managers. Data curation is addressed on three different levels. DS National (LTER, NRI, ...) DS eLTER RI 20 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ DS 3rd Party Actors running and coordinating the process of creating, organising, and maintaining datasets according to their standards. Data Storer DStorer Local (eLTER Facility) Main actors for the management and storage of the main eLTER data repository (eLTER Central Data Node) and providing the main facilities for cataloguing and discovery. Data management and provision is addressed on three different levels. DStorer National (LTER, NRI, ...) DStorer eLTER RI eLTER Data Manager eDM Coordinator Main actors coordinating and planning the development of the architecture, services, and tools. eDM Operator Team providing and prototyping the IT services for the project (e.g., staging area, eLTER CDN, DEIMS-SDR, B2SHARE, eLTER DIP, eLTER Vocab Server, eLTER Data Lab). Site and Platform Coordinator (SPC) Site Coordinator Are the site/platform managers running the long-term monitoring and providing long-term in-situ data for the eLTER network and RI. They are the main contact points for the site Platform Coordinator National Coordinator National Research Infrastructure (NRI) Coordinator The National Coordinator manages and organises the national research infrastructure and network and provide the main contact to the national level. European Coordinator eLTER RI Head Office Manages and coordinates the eLTER RI Most of the group roles and the actors identified in the “Description” column of table 3 are the result of the activities performed in WP10 of the PLUS project. Two more groups have been added (Data Storer, eLTER Data Manager) to describe some parts of the service workflow, i.e. the data storage and governance, which are still under discussion and whose description might be updated in further development stages. In EnRich the terminology used to name the roles has been adjusted to be consistent with the Reference Architecture for FAIR Data Infrastructures6 and services, which is currently being adapted for the eLTER RI within the PLUS project. The results of this work, aimed at embedding FAIR principles by design, will contribute to the PLUS deliverable D10.4, titled 'Technical Concept for Implementation of eLTER Standard Data Products”. 2.4. Building the workflows for “Data management & integration”: setting the scene As evidenced by the description of the ARCHIMATE framework it is possible to construct the workflow of a service based on different views serving the purposes of both, the System Engineering approach and the design and implementation of the CI. The four pillars of a System Engineering approach can be resumed as: 1) technical management processes, 2) technical processes, 3) agreement processes, and 4) organisational 6 https://github.com/amiika/fair-infrastructures?tab=readme-ov-file#reference-architecture-for-fair-data-infrastructures D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 21 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ project-enabling processes (see figure 8). Of those pillars, the ones which are more tightly associated to the workflow design, are the technical processes. These include among the others, business or mission analysis, stakeholder needs and requirements definition, system definitions, architecture definition and implementation. The first step of the technical processes, as evidenced in Figure 6, is the “business or mission analysis” which provides the motivation for the further development of a system. According to the ARCHIMATE schema, a model incorporating the business role analysis and the definition of stakeholder needs and requirements can be built as the combination of “motivation” and “strategy” layers/views. These views have a low granularity (broad concepts, less technical details) and are a suitable recipient for the general information about the services provided by the PPP project. This is the proper granularity to handle the information to be exchanged with the System Engineering team. It is important to notice that while the System Engineering approach emphasises on the overall process required to plan and implement service delivery, the description and analysis of service workflows represent specific instances of some key steps within this process or provide inputs to process stages. While reconstructing the workflow in the ARCHIMATE framework, care is taken to ensure consistency with the overall representation provided by the System Engineering team. The next step is the upscaling of the workflow representation to include all the technical details necessary to inform the technological layer serving the purposes of the CI implementation. Figure 6 Building block of the SE. Green bullets mark the elements which will be analysed in the first stage of the eLTER EnRich project We consider here the starting point for an organisation aiming to provide services, whether it is an enterprise launching new products on the market or like in our case a research infrastructure generating services for different stakeholders’ categories. A business or mission analysis process is essential to develop a product (or service) vision that aligns with the organisation’s strategic goals. This process helps to clarify the objectives to be achieved and the motivations driving the definition and implementation of a new product or service. We exploit the outcomes of the analysis already conducted in the PPP and PLUS projects 22 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ (Gaillardet et al, 2021, Bäck et al, 2021) to implement a business analysis process on the TSA01 bundle gathering the core services supporting and implementing the eLTER RI data management and integration. 3. Thematic Service Area: Data Management and Integration The TSA on Data Management and Integration provides a cohesive suite of functionalities that underpin the eLTER Research Infrastructure’s ability to manage, disseminate, and track environmental data across its network of in-situ facilities. These services are designed to support the full data lifecycle, ensuring consistency, transparency, and accessibility for a wide range of users and stakeholders. At the foundation of this thematic area is the site registration and cataloguing service, which enables the systematic recording and publication of information regarding eLTER Sites and Platforms. This includes detailed metadata about observation locations, deployed sensors, and their affiliations with related networks and infrastructures, ensuring a robust and discoverable database of environmental research assets. Data access is another core functionality, providing users with reliable access to quality-assured and integrated datasets from eLTER facilities. These datasets include Standard Observations and related contextual data, all supported by a centralized repository that manages quality assurance metadata to ensure scientific integrity and usability. To maintain high data quality standards, the data quality insurance service allows providers to submit raw or pre-cleaned datasets for validation. Through a centralized process with uniform criteria, this service ensures that submitted data meets eLTER’s quality thresholds before being registered as standardized observations, promoting consistency and trust in the data offered. The site information cluster service enhances data discoverability by offering access to both legacy and third parties’ datasets. It is equipped with tools that support dynamic data retrieval and enable advanced operations such as data gap filling, thereby facilitating comprehensive temporal and spatial analyses. In addition to access and quality, the thematic area includes a service dedicated to tracking data usage. This involves monitoring citations, data provenance, and usage metrics such as file downloads and user demographics. By using persistent identifiers, the system provides detailed statistics that reflect the reach and impact of publicly available eLTER data. Finally, the site and network information service ensures access to all essential site and network-level data required for national-level research infrastructure design and reporting. This function supports the planning and assessment processes by offering a consolidated overview of operational and structural elements within the eLTER network. Together, these services form a robust and integrated system that supports efficient data stewardship, transparency, and the strategic development of the eLTER Research Infrastructure. These services and their supporting technical components, either directly or indirectly, benefit all stakeholders involved in the RI. In the following subsection we use the “Motivation” layer of the ArchiMate framework to perform a business analysis of the TSA linking the stakeholders’ requirements to the expected outcomes and benefits coming from the implementation of the Data Management and Integration Services. 3.1. Motivations First, to create a system capable of delivering new services, it is crucial to gather stakeholder needs and requirements (Gaillardet et al 2021). The stakeholder analysis is also the driving input for the definition of the “motivation layer” in the ARCHIMATE framework. It is worth to stress, that by motivation here we mean “the motivation for the eLTER RI to engage in the provision of a given service bundle” (Barov et al, 2021). We assume, that the endeavour of constructing new services has been preceded by an assessment of what are the main gaps, and the stakeholder needs which are not fully covered or satisfied by existing similar services. D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 23 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ In the following diagram (see Fig. 10), starting with six of the seven main stakeholder categories which resulted by the PPP analysis of the stakeholder landscape, we illustrate what are the drivers of the interest of each category in the TSA01 services, what are the assessments associated with those drivers and finally the goals the RI aims to achieve through the service provision. We have not included the stakeholder category, i.e. Research and Research Infrastructure funders, since many elements activated by the other categories apply to this last one too. The representation also contains information about some of the “values” generated by the service. For the sake of clarity, the link of each value to each stakeholder category has been omitted since most of the “values” generated by the service are associated with many or all the stakeholders. Therefore, the values reported in Fig. 7 refer to the whole thematic service area leading to the value proposition for the individual services aggregated under the umbrella of TS01 which are described in the following chapter. 24 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services ______________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 7. Motivation “view” underpinning the TSA01 provision 25 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services ________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________ 3.2. Value proposition and value chain The value proposition for the whole TSA01 service bundle can be summarised as "broker of validated and harmonised long-term, multi-scale data to support evidence-based environmental policy" (Alam et al, 2025). The value proposition for each service is listed below and is derived from the internal discussion on service specifications carried out within the PPP/PLUS projects. It should be noted that at this stage the value proposition did not specifically address one or more stakeholder categories. The preliminary result of the analysis of the value which TSA01 can generate through the service provision is reported in the box below for each service of the bundle. TSA01_DM.01 Site registration and cataloguing This service will enable eLTER RI stakeholders to register, describe and search across site information through IT tools according to their needs. A persistent identifier (deims.id) for each facility is generated to unambiguously identify the facilities (e.g. in case of collocation). In addition, documentation of 'observation locations' and 'sensors' is enabled (identified by a stable URI). This service will also be a reference to the long-term observation facility as part of the provenance chain and to establish the site information clusters (TSA01 Service 05). The service will allow RI stakeholders and users to identify and select sites of interest according to the characteristics provided (e.g. discovery interface). This enables the management of the Transnational Access (TA) programme and access to site data (TSA01 Service 02 and Service 05). TSA01_DM.02 Access to Site Data This service will allow RI stakeholders to identify and (if available) download data through data services (complying with FAIR principles) for all available long-term observation data from eLTER facilities. The level of harmonisation and standardisation depends on the inclusion into core data workflows for SOs. TSA01_DM.03 Data ingestion and quality assurance This service will allow sites to gain greater promotion and dissemination of their data through validated and integrated eLTER data products. This will provide greater acknowledgement of environmental observation from each site and its collective value to the research community and wider eLTER stakeholders. TSA01_DM.05 Site information clusters This service will allow to : 1) provide a continuously updated and comprehensive landscape of relevant data sources relevant to address the eLTER research challenges; 2) facilitate the access to multiple data sources, removing technical barriers to the exploitation and re-use of data externally generated; 3)provide and store retrieval-based SOs and offer an on-demand service for browsing, downloading and clipping third parties data for specific research questions or to serve the purposes of synthesis toward actionable knowledge; 4) facilitate site data and external data resources to be merged to create an information cluster and made it available to eLTER RI stakeholders. TSA01_DM.06 Data use statistics This service will provide stakeholders with a measure of the use and impact of RI datasets and data products. 32 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 12. DM03 - Data Ingestion and Quality Assurance. A centralised quality control mechanism is applied to relevant variables within the Standard Observations, using consistent and transparent criteria. This process results in high-quality, quality-controlled observational data (Level 2), which represents a harmonised and reliable dataset ready for integration. When these data are incorporated into broader eLTER data products, eLTER ensures an additional layer of centralised quality control, safeguarding the consistency and integrity of composite datasets. The general application services for data processing are highlighted in relation to the scientific production workflow and quality assurance. The final outputs are made available through FAIR-aligned data services, which include features for proper data citation and detailed tracking of data provenance and processing history. This ensures transparency in data treatment and supports reproducibility of research. Overall, this service is a foundational element of the eLTER infrastructure, as it underpins the commitment to delivering high-quality, standardised, and interoperable data. 3.7. Information Clusters The primary objective of this service is to facilitate the discovery and access of “retrieval-based” Standard Observations (SOs) that originate from external sources, such as national statistical offices or Earth Observation (EO) data providers. Beyond these main sources, the service is designed to accommodate additional data types and sources not currently represented in the existing SO list, allowing for a broader and more dynamic integration of relevant datasets into the eLTER Research Infrastructure (RI). Key functionalities of the service include the registration of relevant retrieval-based data sources in the eLTER Data Access Registry (DAR), particularly those identified as valuable by the internal research community and made available for data reuse. This ensures a curated and accessible repository of third-party data that supports scientific activities across sites and platforms. The service also provides rich metadata for each registered source, detailing access conditions (e.g., open access, registration-based, fee-based, or under specific licensing terms), as well as technical specifications such as data format, spatial and temporal resolution, and update frequency. These metadata help researchers quickly assess the usability and relevance of a given dataset for their specific needs. D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 33 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 13. DM05 - Information Cluster. In addition to metadata and discovery, the service offers practical tools to enhance data usability. These include capabilities to spatially clip data according to site boundaries, mechanisms to request and obtain third-party data on demand, and advanced tools for dynamic data retrieval targeted at experienced researchers who require real-time or programmatic access. Furthermore, the service supports the assignment of persistent identifiers (PIDs) to eLTER-derived products, ensuring traceability, reproducibility, and proper citation, whenever licensing conditions of the original datasets allows re-publication. Data visualization features are also included, with the option to connect to or integrate existing visualization tools provided by third-party data sources, enhancing the user experience and enabling comparative analysis. This service plays a vital strategic role within the eLTER RI. By extending the scope of data available for research at both site and platform levels, it supports efforts such as gap filling, contextual data enrichment, and the pursuit of new interdisciplinary research questions. It also strengthens collaboration opportunities by fostering synergies with European and global networks, infrastructures, and organizations, thereby enhancing the exploitation and interoperability of shared data resources. 3.8. Data use statistics This service enables data providers to access usage statistics for data they have registered with the eLTER RI, as well as any data products derived from that data (Figure 14). The primary focus is on citation metrics rather than views or downloads, to assess the impact of eLTER data more meaningfully. It is intended to support tracking of citations for data objects published by eLTER RI through a persistent identifier (PID) system. Additionally, it allows for tracing data provenance down to the source level using PIDs, monitoring data usage through citation counts and quantitative indicators such as the number of downloaded files, total volume in petabytes, and the number of data users, institutions, or countries. The service should also provide statistics on publicly available eLTER data, facilitating comparisons with actual usage statistics. 34 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ All these capabilities are closely linked to the data policy, terms of use, and the availability of data which can be accessed through APIs. Figure 14. DM06 - Data Usage Statistics. A potential pathway toward implementing a service for tracking data use statistics could begin with a minimum viable product focused on collecting and visualising data download statistics. These statistics can be automatically extracted from backend log files of the download service, eliminating the need for developing a separate download tracking feature. Instead, implementation costs would be embedded within the overall development of the research infrastructure’s backend system—whether it is database-driven or hosted on a cloud platform. In this form, the MVP is not an independent service but an integrated function that supports the user interface or website displaying usage data. As development progresses, data usage tracking can be expanded beyond simple download metrics. Additional insights can be gained by analysing user behaviour, such as identifying the origins of data queries and the types of data requested. Achieving this requires consistent and structured naming conventions within the data source, enabling the configuration of analytics tools to monitor interactions, such as which links are clicked. Tools like the open-source Matomo (Hopkins.fi) offer a feasible solution for implementing this level of digital analytics. A further layer of complexity involves tracking data citations. The foundation for this is the publication of clear data citation guidelines and encouraging users to follow them when referencing data. Various methods exist for identifying and monitoring citations in scholarly outputs, enabling a more qualitative measure of data impact. A more advanced implementation could involve assigning DOIs to individual data products, which can reference original data sources. This could be extended further to assign DOIs to smaller data objects or even to specific downloads, enhancing transparency, reproducibility, and alignment with FAIR data principles. However, realizing this level of provenance tracking and citation monitoring would require a dedicated service. Such a service would necessitate detailed planning before costs could be reasonably estimated. Looking ahead, recent developments by DataCite offer promising support for this direction. With funding from the Wellcome Trust, DataCite is building the Open Global Data Citation Corpus—an initiative aimed at transforming the data citation landscape. This corpus will collect asserted citations from a wide array of D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 35 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ sources and be accessible to all community stakeholders. By aggregating data references across research outputs, the corpus will enhance the ability to track impact, guide funding decisions, and improve the visibility and dissemination of scientific data. 36 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Thematic Service Area: Optimal Design and RI interoperability The functioning and the continuous update of the RI requires services which focus on the evolution of the internal organisation as well as on keeping the RI updated with respect to broadening of the scope of research activities, emergence of new technologies and opportunities, possible increase in size and different distribution of the service provision. This task is delegated to the service bundle TSA02.OD responsible for the optimisation of the RI design. We analyse here only the services that have been included in the list of the Core Services and are resumed in Table 5 together with the main functionalities associated to them. These services are also strictly related to the data services provided by the CI and might have an impact on the technical implementation. Table 5. Core services belonging to the TSA02 on Optimal Design and RI Interoperability (Mallast et al, 2024) Core Service Main Functionality Updating of eLTER Standard Observations (02_OD.01) Periodic revision of methods and protocols, discussion of adapting new methods/protocols with eLTER coordination as well as maintaining and updating repository of documents and/or videos describing the protocols and providing a consultation service for questions/requests from Site and Platform coordinators on SO protocols. Site selection and labelling (02_OD.05) Manages the site labelling process. Evaluates the representativeness of the eLTER network of labelled eLTER in-situ facilities and identifies spatial gaps to allow an optimal SO coverage and regarding eLTER WAILS approach and suggests eLTER RI coordination to establish/upgrade eLTER in-situ facilities to new categories (Cat 1/ Cat 2) to fill gaps Technical consultation: New eLTER RI members (02_OD.07) Manages consultation process to ensure assessment of SO’s, their location and requirements at site, national and regional level and provide a pre-evaluation of proposed sites according to the geographical/biome/ecosystem type coverage of the whole RIs (consideration of strategic positioning and added value for the eLTER RI) 4.1. Motivations The following diagram (see Figure 15) contains the motivation view behind the core services of the bundle. It is a simplified version focusing on the stakeholders most impacted by the service implementation, which in this case are the scientific community, peers in environmental research and observation, decision-makers and internal community. D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 37 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 15. Motivation view of TSA01.OD In the following subsections we provide a representation in the ARCHIMATE language of the 3 Core Services belonging to TSA02. 4.2. Establishment and continuous updating of eLTER Standard Observations with related methods and protocols With reference to the System Engineering approach this service is associated with the process management as well as with the maintenance, although not necessarily at a technical level. The aim of this service is to gather all the information about existing and new methods and protocols and to inform the RI decision processes. The way this service contributes to decisions, and the information flow is streamlined into the CI needs to be better specified. The following diagram illustrates a possible workflow to establish these connections. First, we must identify the starting point and the roles. We assume that the executive team under the coordination of a process manager starts the revision process and keeps a technological watch on new opportunities. That requires also an analysis of costs and benefits of the changes to be proposed. The outcome of the preliminary analysis is to trigger a discussion with the Head Office, the expert group and the 38 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services __________________________________________________________________________________ SPF, with the aim of generating a sustainable plan for changes. The implementation of the plan involves a collaboration with the management of TSA01 to feed in the CI the new methods and protocols. These changes have an impact on the Data Ingestion and the metadata profile, including changes in the data models, reduction or incrementation of the number of observations, new sources of third parties’ data to be added, new APIs and so on. It is of utmost importance that the decisional process and the exchange of information with the data services is properly managed. In figure 20 we provide a simplified diagram of a potential workflow for this service. Figure 16. Representation of the workflow of the TSA02_OD.01 service 4.3. Contributing to the site selection and labelling service The services provided by the Research Infrastructure (RI) also encompass activities related to the reconfiguration of the entire network, including the integration of new sites and the upgrade or downgrading of existing facilities. Within this framework, the establishment of new sites and the labelling of both new and existing sites constitute the primary objectives of the TSA02.OD.05 service. This service can be articulated through two principal workflows: the monitoring workflow and the labelling workflow. The monitoring workflow focuses on the continuous oversight of the network to ensure that all sites and platforms maintain adequate performance levels and comply with the eLTER standards appropriate to their assigned category. It is anticipated that, at regular intervals, the overall distribution of sites will undergo review to detect gaps in spatial coverage or areas insufficiently represented in relation to specific research priorities or thematic knowledge domains. When such deficiencies are identified, corrective actions may include upgrading the classification of existing sites, expanding the network by establishing new sites, or pursuing co-location opportunities with other Research Infrastructures (RIs) or networks. These strategies aim to optimise both time and resource efficiency. The monitoring cycle also serves to periodically assess the performance of existing sites, ensuring their ongoing compliance with technical standards and the renewal of institutional commitments. Adjustments to site or platform categories may be recommended based on the actual fulfilment of technical requirements. The upper portion of Figure 17 presents a summary of the monitoring workflow. Several roles are integral to the monitoring workflow, including the National Research Infrastructure (NRI), the Head Office, and the General Assembly. The overall coordination of the process is managed by the Topic Centre, which hosts a Thematic Committee and an Executive Board. The Topic Centre appoints a Labelling D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 39 | Page __________________________________________________________________________________ Review Committee responsible for executing the key processes involved in both the monitoring and labelling workflows. The monitoring process is conducted systematically every five years and is driven by the analysis of Operation Reports submitted by the NRIs. These reports inform the production of a comprehensive review of the network’s status, possible amendments to the existing Labelling Plan, and the formulation of proposals for potential co-location initiatives with other RIs. The final output of the monitoring workflow is an Assessment Report prepared by the Head Office, with analytical support from the Labelling Review Committee. This Assessment Report is submitted to the General Assembly, which holds the authority to make the final decisions regarding network configuration and strategic developments. Moreover, any expansion of the network requires updates to the data services managed by the Cyberinfrastructure (CI), particularly those related to site registration and cataloguing services predominantly operated through DEIMS-SDR. In designing these data services, it is crucial to minimise the operational impact associated with ongoing updates and system changes. The labelling workflow, detailed in the lower portion of Figure 16, involves the same set of actors. This process is initiated by the National Research Infrastructure, which submits a Pre-label Report containing a proposal for the establishment or upgrade of a research site. The Labelling Review Committee evaluates the Pre-label Report, undertaking a detailed verification of the site's compliance with the required technical and design standards. Based on this assessment, the proposal is either approved or rejected. If the proposal does not meet the necessary standards, it enters a revision cycle whereby the NRI addresses the technical recommendations issued by the Labelling Review Committee. The revised proposal is then resubmitted for evaluation. If the proposal is approved, the site is formally integrated into the eLTER network. At this stage, the Head Office assumes responsibility for compiling a Labelling Review Approval Package, which is subsequently presented to the General Assembly for formal ratification. Like the monitoring workflow, the addition of a new site necessitates updates to the data services managed by the CI, ensuring consistency and accuracy across the network’s registry and catalogues. The entire architectural model underscores a highly structured, transparent, and dynamic process, wherein proposals and scheduled evaluations systematically guide the development, maintenance, and evolution of a robust research network. This integrated approach ensures sound governance, fosters continuous improvement, and secures the long-term quality and relevance of the eLTER infrastructure. Details on the procedures for the implementation of the service in the pilot stage and for the final set up are contained in the PPP deliverable D6.3 “Site Labelling process and procedure for the implementation“ by F. Pando et al. (2024). 40 | Page D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 16. Representation of the workflow of the TSA02_OD.05 service D1.1: Workflows for eLTER services 41 | Page _____________________________________________________________________________________ 4.4. Technical consultation for new eLTER RI members on site locations and requirements The workflow of service TSA01.OD.07 is related to the management and coordination of a consultation and evaluation process for selecting and integrating sites into the RI. The team in charge of providing the service engages with Research Infrastructure members and experts to identify and understand the needs and challenges concerning site location and environmental monitoring requirements. The objective is to evaluate potential sites for their strategic value and alignment with the RI's geographical, biome, and ecosystem coverage objectives. The evaluation includes several actions: a) analyse the proposed sites against established criteria (e.g., diversity, representativeness of ecosystems, geographical spread); b) identify gaps in coverage and assess how each site contributes to the overall RI network’s goals; c) prioritise sites that provide strategic positioning or unique contributions, such as filling coverage gaps or representing underrepresented biomes. The request for additional sites may reach out the team via the CI help desk and might be elaborated using applications already exploited in other services of the same bundle. The outcome will be a report which will be used by the Head Office to take decisions. In case the new site is approved, this process goes through the Interim Council and the new configuration of the network will be integrated in the CI. Among the services designed by the team there is also to facilitate knowledge transfer and capacity building by connecting less experienced sites with established RI member networks. These tutoring activities will exploit the knowledge base of the RI which might be also accessed via the help desk. In Figure 17 we illustrate the main roles and functions included in the service workflow. Figure 17. Representation of the workflow of the TSA02_OD.07 service