Challenges and potential solutions for radiation protection research infrastructures

Radiation protection research, particularly its infrastructural aspects, is grappling with numerous challenges. Key among these are financial constraints for hiring permanent technical staff, accessibility issues, and administrative support requirements. The European Partnership for Radiation Protection Research (PIANOFORTE) conducted a workshop to discuss these challenges. The workshop identified a lack of sustained funding for maintaining and upgrading equipment and facilities, retaining skilled staff, and managing databases as the primary hurdles. This paper delves into these challenges in greater detail and proposes policy solutions to strengthen the infrastructure of radiation protection research. It emphasizes the need for improved financial models, better accessibility to databases, and more effective training of staff. It also suggests fostering connections with other related databases to share costs and maintain a prevalent digital presence. The goal is to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of infrastructures within radiation protection research in the European Research Area, thereby leading to improved protection of the public, patients, workers and the environment against exposure to ionising radiation.