On our 25th anniversary, our institute is publishing an inspiring and sustainable roadmap for the 5 years to come. Endorsed by the whole SIB community, the aim of this document is to present the institute today, to put its vision and activities into perspective, and to detail its development priorities. Keep reading to discover the five strategic objectives and enablers that will help us get there, including our funding model and our support functions.
At SIB, we know that expertise with life science data is key to solving many of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as the environmental crisis or public health. By unlocking the potential of biological and biomedical data, we aim to generate knowledge and innovate for a better future. To support this vision, five strategic objectives and a set of enablers have been defined in a roadmap which is endorsed by our 200 employees and more than 80 affiliated Group Leaders.
Key enablers of our strategic goals
We have identified the most important factors and functions enabling our institute to pursue its mission and achieve its various objectives:
- Our funding model, with approximately 50% of funding provided by SERI and 50% from other sources including competitive ones (see our funding sources)
- Shared principles for a sustainable development including around environmental impact, and equal opportunities
- Professional and domain-specific support functions
Objective 1: To enable life science advances through open resources and open research data
At the core of SIB’s mission since 1998, this goal is more essential today than ever. Every year, more and more scientists and clinicians rely on such databases, tools and data for their discoveries and innovations. Our activities over the next five years will thus focus on:
- Developing and maintaining a connected portfolio of world class biological knowledge resources and tools
- Providing services in FAIRification, open data management and knowledge representation
- Providing training to scientists, clinicians & data professionals
Objective 2: To unlock the potential of -omics data for better health
SIB has played a key role in the rise of personalized health and data-driven medicine by setting up the SPHN infrastructure and BioMedIT national secure IT network. This calls for further developments. We will thus focus our activities on:
- Facilitating data analysis through federated infrastructure
- Supporting hospitals to develop precision medicine
- Reinforcing pathogen bioinformatics for research & public health
Objective 3: To contribute to the environmental conservation effort
The biodiversity and environmental crisis call for urgent action from us all. Here is how SIB will further its current efforts to tackle these topics:
- Tackling the many bioinformatics needs in the field of environmental protection
- Strongly positioning SIB on environmental issues at national and international levels
- Engaging in national efforts for the preservation of the environment
Objective 4: To remain at the leading edge of new technological developments
From ChatGPT to DALL-E, the last years have seen their share of daily AI-driven revolutions and game-changing technologies. Our role as specialised data scientists is to contribute to and make the most of these tools and methods for the life sciences, while ensuring they are used ethically and for the benefit of all. We will therefore focus on:
- Enabling a more effective and inclusive AI for life sciences
- Integrating new data types and technologies
- Ensuring SIB’s working environment promotes excellence and innovative thinking
Objective 5: Represent Swiss interests internationally in life science research infrastructure
Very few countries outside of Switzerland benefit from a dedicated federated organization to support their national life science research infrastructure. This is a key asset in terms of visibility and weight on the international scene. By bringing together nearly a thousand bioinformaticians, computational biologists, software developers and biocurators (200 of whom are directly employed by SIB), our national network enables us to promote and leverage excellence in Swiss bioinformatics and to connect it to the world. We aim to further:
- Federate Swiss bioinformaticians, drive developments in the field and position Switzerland among the leaders
- Strengthen our position within international institutions & initiatives
- Increase international recognition of SIB Resources
