Governance and Membership

EBRAINS is organised as a central hub coordinating a pan-European network of services delivered by a distributed network of providers. The hub is EBRAINS AISBL, an international non-profit association headquartered in Brussels. The distributed network is coordinated through National Nodes.

This section covers the institutional side of EBRAINS: the bodies that govern the association, how an institution becomes a member, and how a country’s participation is organised into a National Node.

Why National Nodes exist

EBRAINS services are not delivered from one place. They come from institutions across Europe, and each participating country needs a recognised structure that can speak for its national ecosystem in both directions.

A National Node is that structure. It brings institutions and stakeholders within a country together to:

• contribute to and consume EBRAINS services;
• coordinate national activities related to EBRAINS;
• represent national priorities and capacities within EBRAINS governance and operations.

Establishing a National Node is a formal, long-term commitment to the development, coordination, visibility and strategic alignment of EBRAINS activities at national level — not an administrative formality.

Which pathway applies to you

Membership category determines the pathway. The distinction matters, because only one of the two produces an officially recognised National Node.

There can only be one Full Member per country, and only a Full Member institution can lead an officially established National Node.

From application to operational node

Both pathways begin with the same membership application, then diverge.

flowchart TD
    A[Submit Membership Application] --> B[Governance Review
statutory verification · member notification · GB approval]
    B --> C[Signature of Accession Agreement
membership effective date]
    C --> D{Membership Activated}

    D -->|Full Member| E[Node Formation
expected]
    E --> F[Official National Node]
    F --> G[Institutional Mandate
National Node Agreement
National Node Plan]
    G --> H[Operational Onboarding
NNB · SharePoint · website · communication]
    H --> I[Fully Operational National Node]

    D -->|Associate Member| J{Node formation?}
    J -->|No| K[No further action]
    J -->|Yes| L[Node in Formation]
    L --> M[National Node Operational Meetings
community building]
    M -.->|progressive transition| E

The dotted line matters: a Node in Formation does not become a National Node on its own. The transition requires a Full Member institution to take the lead. See Node in Formation.

What’s in this section

• Governance — the bodies that govern EBRAINS AISBL and the principles they follow
• Membership categories — Full and Associate rights, obligations and fees
• Apply for membership — the five steps from application to activation
• Establish a National Node — the Full Member pathway
• Node in Formation — the Associate Member pathway
• National Node onboarding — what a node gets access to once established

Future development of the framework

The National Node framework continues to evolve, with the aim of improving governance clarity, simplifying onboarding, strengthening member engagement and supporting sustainable expansion of the ecosystem. National Node members are encouraged to contribute to that process through the National Node Board.

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