Funding boost for the Living Lab and other outdoor laboratories
A consortium of research infrastructures focused on water quality has received €4.18 million in funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant will support the transformation of outdoor laboratories at Leiden University, NIOO-KNAW, Radboud University, and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) into smart, collaborative ‘hubs’.
The coming decade will see increased support for research in ‘real’ nature. These outdoor labs, experimental facilities that simulate mini water systems, will receive support from data scientists at the University of Twente and DANS-KNAW. The participating facilities include Leiden University’s Living Lab, the limnotrons at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Radboud University’s experimental garden, and WUR’s Sinderhoeve.
The goal is to create a network of SMART research hubs, sharing measurement tools and data expertise. Martina Vijver, scientific director of Leiden’s Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) and one of the driving forces behind the Living Lab, is enthusiastic about the grant: ‘This funding is a national recognition of the Living Lab. For us, it’s a stepping stone towards international visibility.’
‘This is national recognition of the Living Lab and a stepping stone to international stature.’
Why SMART?
SMART stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technologies. Thanks to recent advances—such as high-resolution water quality sensors and automated sampling devices—researchers can now collect environmental data at an unprecedented level of detail. This opens the door to improved data analysis, especially when combined with the latest AI techniques. These so-called data pipelines are more efficient and fully aligned with the principles of open science.
The SEFAP collaboration (Smart Experimental Facilities for Aquatic Processes) brings together leading freshwater ecologists and data scientists in the Netherlands. It forms a central hub for research into inland waters. This ‘one-stop shop’ allows scientists to study water ecosystems at different levels of complexity—from tightly controlled lab setups to more ecologically realistic outdoor experiments.
Leading freshwater ecologists and data scientists in the Netherlands unite in this project.
Strengthening Dutch research and improving ecosystem predictions
SEFAP is firmly rooted in open science. It provides access to its facilities through dedicated research days, builds a shared pool of measurement and analysis tools, and is developing a central metadata database for aquatic ecological experiments. In doing so, SEFAP aims to strengthen the international position of Dutch aquatic ecology.
Its long-term goal is to improve our ability to predict how aquatic ecosystems respond to a changing world. The focus is shifting from simply measuring effects (‘What is happening?’) to understanding the underlying processes, from the species level to entire ecosystems (‘How and why is it happening?’).
About the research programme
The research programme ‘Scientific Infrastructure (WI) – National Consortia’ funds infrastructure that enables innovative science. With investments from this programme, NWO supports scientific facilities that are made available to the broader research community by Dutch knowledge institutions. Researchers from across the country—sometimes also with international partners—collaborate to develop and operate new research facilities.