As soon as approval has been granted as part of the third NUM funding phase, ENRICH (Extending NUM Research Infrastructures through Collaboration and Harmonisation) will be in the starting blocks to create an overarching connection between the existing NUM research infrastructures for the first time from February 2026 and to open up new data sources.
A portal for all NUM data is being created
The centrepiece of ENRICH will be the new DATAPORTAL4NUM, which will offer researchers standardised access to all NUM resources in future. The relevant metadata from all infrastructures will be harmonised, networked and made searchable via a central NUM knowledge graph - without compromising the autonomy of the individual systems. The federated approach supports the decentralised storage of NUM data, while significantly improving its findability and usability.
Building bridges between imaging and clinical
NUM-BRIDGE will create a bidirectional link between RACOON and the Data Integration Centres (DICs). This will enable the seamless linking of imaging data with routine clinical data - a crucial step for multimodal research approaches.
Automation for more efficient studies
The DIC-NUKLEUS sub-project will pilot the automatic transfer of laboratory data from routine care to study databases. This should not only significantly reduce the manual documentation effort, but also improve data quality and accelerate research processes.
New data sources will be developed
ENRICH will also systematically expand the existing NUM data space to include new data types:
- NUM-OMICS will establish a platform for genomic and molecular data
- COLOCATE will make pathology data accessible for research
- External data, e.g. from cancer registries and health insurance companies, will be integrated
- mHealth data from sensors and wearables are to be incorporated into the infrastructures on the basis of interoperable standards
Strong together for the future
23 NUM partners and 12 associated partners will work together in ENRICH from February 2026 to July 2028. The standards and interfaces to be developed will create the basis for a sustainable, interoperable Reseach Infrastructure - not only nationally, but also with planned connection points to European data spaces.