CONSORTIUM GARR

Their core work

GARR is Italy's national research and education network (NREN), operating the high-speed backbone that connects universities, research centers, and cultural institutions across Italy to the global internet. Within H2020, GARR contributes to pan-European networking infrastructure through the GÉANT project series, builds federated authentication and authorization systems for researchers (AARC), and plays a growing role in the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) ecosystem. They are an infrastructure operator first — their value lies in keeping research connectivity fast, secure, and interoperable across borders.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

GARR's early H2020 work (2015–2017) centered on physical connectivity — research networking through GÉANT, transatlantic submarine cables via BELLA-S1, and basic authentication infrastructure with AARC. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward the EOSC ecosystem, open science services, FAIR data, and cloud-based research infrastructure. The keyword shift from "connectivity, submarine cable, Latin America" to "EOSC, open science, e-infrastructure, innovation" tells a clear story: GARR moved up the stack from network pipes to the data and service layers built on top of them.

GARR is evolving from a network operator into an open science platform provider, making them increasingly relevant for any project needing EOSC integration, federated data services, or national-level cloud infrastructure coordination.

How they like to work

GARR overwhelmingly participates as a partner (9 of 11 projects), which is typical for NRENs that provide infrastructure components within large consortia. Their one coordinator role — EOSC-Pillar — signals growing ambition to lead, particularly in EOSC governance. With 135 unique partners across 41 countries, GARR operates as a well-connected hub; the GÉANT projects alone bring massive multi-country consortia, so partnering with GARR gives indirect access to the entire European NREN community.

Exceptionally wide network: 135 unique partners across 41 countries, driven largely by GÉANT's pan-European consortia and the BELLA transatlantic link. Their reach spans virtually all EU member states plus Latin America, making them one of the most broadly connected infrastructure organizations in H2020.

What sets them apart

GARR is one of only ~30 NRENs in Europe, giving it a quasi-monopoly position as Italy's research connectivity provider. Unlike commercial ISPs, GARR operates as a non-profit consortium focused exclusively on the research and education sector, which means deep trust and embedded relationships with every major Italian university and research institute. For consortium builders, GARR offers not just network infrastructure but a gateway to the Italian research community and direct operational experience with EOSC, GÉANT, and federated AAI — three pillars of European research infrastructure.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EOSC-Pillar
  GARR's only coordinator role (EUR 651K), leading the harmonization of national EOSC initiatives across Central and Western Europe — signals their authority in open science governance.
• GN4-3
  Largest single funding (EUR 850K) as part of Europe's flagship research networking infrastructure, covering secure multi-domain networking across the continent.
• BELLA-S1
  Unusual for an NREN — involvement in building a transatlantic submarine cable connecting European and Latin American research networks, demonstrating global infrastructure ambition.