Scientific infrastructure and complex geographies: Building components, capabilities and collaborations for the European Spallation Source

The European Spallation Source (ESS), currently under construction in Lund, is one of the largest investments in scientific infrastructure in Europe, estimated to cost a total of €1.8 Billion. 17 countries take part in financing this facility, and components will be built in collaboration at laboratories spread around Europe, before they are installed in Lund in 2019. In order to manage 400 such collaborations, mechanisms must be developed to establish trust. This project aims to identify factors that shape the quality of collaborations, which affects likelihood of building this facility on time, on budget, and on specification. The project has a comparative case study design and the methodology is mainly qualitative in nature.