Cross-national panel survey on ageing and retirementprimary
4 projects
Core mission visible in SHARE-DEV3, SHARE-COHESION, SHARE-COVID19, and SERISS — all focused on running and improving the SHARE survey across Europe.
Organization
EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE CONSORTIUM FOR THE SURVEY OF HEALTH, AGEING AND RETIREMENT IN EUROPE
Operates Europe's largest cross-national survey on health, ageing, and retirement across 28+ EU countries, providing open population data for research and policy.
Infrastructure providersocietyDENo active H2020 projects
H2020 projects
7
As coordinator
2
Total EC funding
€15.5M
Unique partners
94
What they do
Their core work
SHARE ERIC operates Europe's largest cross-national panel survey on health, ageing, and retirement, collecting comparable microdata across 28+ EU member countries. They provide research infrastructure that enables scientists and policymakers to study how populations age, how health systems perform, and how economic conditions affect older Europeans. Their survey data is a foundational resource for evidence-based policy on demographics, pensions, and healthcare across Europe. During COVID-19, they rapidly mobilized their infrastructure to measure the pandemic's non-intended health, economic, and social effects across countries.
Core expertise
What they specialise in
Social science research infrastructure managementprimary
5 projects
Operates as an ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) and participates in infrastructure governance through SERISS, ERIC Forum, and RItrain.
FAIR data and open science for social sciencessecondary
2 projects
Active in SSHOC (Social Sciences & Humanities Open Cloud) and ERIC Forum, contributing to FAIR data principles and EOSC integration.
COVID-19 population impact assessmentemerging
1 project
SHARE-COVID19 adapted the existing survey infrastructure to rapidly assess pandemic effects across multiple countries.
Research infrastructure training and capacity buildingsecondary
1 project
Participated in RItrain to develop competency profiles and training programmes for research infrastructure leaders and managers.
Evolution & trajectory
How they've shifted over time
Early focus
Survey infrastructure development
Recent focus
Open science and pandemic response
In the early H2020 period (2015-2017), SHARE ERIC focused on building and standardizing its core survey infrastructure across countries, alongside contributing to research infrastructure management training (RItrain). From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward open science, FAIR data, EOSC integration, and cross-national COVID-19 impact research — reflecting the broader EU push for open research infrastructure. Their evolution shows a mature infrastructure provider moving from construction and standardization toward interoperability, data openness, and rapid-response research capability.
SHARE ERIC is positioning itself as a FAIR-compliant, EOSC-integrated social science data platform capable of rapid deployment for emerging crises like pandemics.
Collaboration profile
How they like to work
Role: infrastructure_providerReach: European21 countries collaborated
SHARE ERIC operates as both a consortium leader and an active infrastructure partner. They coordinate their own large-scale survey projects (SHARE-DEV3, SHARE-COHESION with budgets of EUR 4.9-5.5M) while joining broader infrastructure initiatives as a participant. With 94 unique partners across 21 countries, they function as a network hub — their survey spans nearly all EU member states, making them a natural connector for any consortium needing cross-national population data.
Extensive European network spanning 94 partners across 21 countries, reflecting the pan-European nature of the SHARE survey which covers 28+ member states. Their partner base includes national statistics offices, universities, and social science research centres across virtually all of Europe.
Why partner with them
What sets them apart
SHARE ERIC is one of very few ERICs dedicated to social science — most European research infrastructures focus on physical sciences or biomedicine. Their 20+ year longitudinal panel survey on ageing is unmatched in geographic scope and comparability, covering 28 EU countries with harmonized methodology. For any consortium needing population-level data on health, ageing, retirement, or socioeconomic conditions across Europe, SHARE ERIC is the default partner.
Notable projects
Highlights from their portfolio
- SHARE-DEV3Largest single project (EUR 5.5M as coordinator) — brought the SHARE survey to world-class standards across all participating countries.
- SHARE-COVID19Demonstrated the infrastructure's agility by rapidly pivoting to measure pandemic impacts across Europe using the existing survey panel.
- SSHOCKey participation in building the Social Sciences & Humanities Open Cloud — positions SHARE data within the broader European Open Science Cloud.
Cross-sector capabilities
Health systems and population health researchPublic policy and pension system analysisDemographic and labour market studiesPandemic preparedness and crisis impact assessment
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