We’ve funded a range of projects to guide our roadmap for the future

“Federating Everything, Everywhere, All at once” – exploring the potential for inclusion of Tier3 services in the UKRI federated DRI

This project aims to build a clear, evidence-based picture of the UK’s Tier-3 research computing landscape and how ready it is for closer collaboration between institutions. Tier-3 systems are a vital part of the national research ecosystem, supporting day-to-day research activity across universities, but they are highly diverse in how they are funded, managed, and used.

Through a targeted national survey, follow-up interviews, and a community workshop, the project will gather insight into how these systems currently operate, how decisions are made, and how researchers interact with them. It will also explore the technical, organisational, and cultural challenges that can make collaboration between institutions difficult.

The findings will be used to develop a practical roadmap for Tier-3 federation, setting out realistic and achievable models for shared access, coordination, and interoperability. This roadmap will be designed to complement existing national infrastructure, support a wide range of research communities, and help improve the resilience and long-term sustainability of UK research computing through to 2027.