The Future of e-Research Infrastructures Kathryn Eccles 1 , Ralph Schroeder 1 , Eric T. Meyer 1 , Zack Kertcher 2 , Franz Barjak 3 , Tobias Huesing 4 , Simon Robinson 4 1 Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK 2 National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, US 3 University of Applied Sciences, Northwestern Switzerland 4 Empirica, Bonn, Germany Email address of corresponding author: kathryn.eccles@oii.ox.ac.uk Abstract. In this paper, we present selected results of a systematic study of different types of e-Research infrastructures. The paper is based on ongoing research to compare a range of e- Infrastructures of broad diversity focusing on: geographical diversity, representing efforts from around the globe; disciplinary diversity, including the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities; organizational diversity, for example, multi-institutional or federated; diverse levels of maturity, from those in the planning stage to those with a well-established user base; and diverse types of target user communities such as specialized niche, discipline-wide, or generic infrastructures. In presenting six initial cases, we discuss some general features that distinguish between different types of infrastructures across different fields of research. Previous analyses of e-Infrastructures have focused on the parallels between these infrastructures and the major infrastructures in society that support national populations. What our cases highlight instead is that e-Infrastructures consist of multiple types of overlapping and intersecting socio-technical configurations that serve quite diverse needs and groups of users. Indeed, the very term ‘infrastructures’ may be misleading insofar as it connotes support of whole communities of researchers on a large scale, which is currently still premature. The paper derives implications of this heterogeneity for the future outlook on e-Infrastructures. Introduction The development of infrastructures for e-Research has reached a point inviting reflection. e- Research infrastructures are beginning to show signs of fulfilling their early promise and are no longer in their infancy, but they are also not yet fully mature. Sizable investments have been made in Europe, the US and elsewhere, and still more investment is being allocated and planned for the future. Yet despite a number of policy and planning studies which point to future options, so far little attention has been paid to developing a systematic understanding of the different types of technological and organizational outcomes in the transition to e- Research infrastructures. Furthermore, although several studies have recently examined a single e-Research infrastructure (Olson, Zimmerman and Bos 2008), much less studied but of considerable empirical and conceptual significance is research that identifies some defining characteristics that distinguish between different types of infrastructures and across different fields of research. In this paper, we present selected results of such a systematic approach and present preliminary data from selected e-Infrastructure case studies and identify some characteristics that can help us to make sense of their trajectories.