From Project Cycles to Collective Governance: Sustaining Digital Research Infrastructures through the GKFI

Abstract

Abstract The sustainability of digital research infrastructures (RIs) beyond project-based funding cycles poses significant structural and economic challenges for memory institutions. In particular, the asymmetry between locally incurred operating costs and globally distributed utility (local costs, global benefits) often leads to a legitimacy deficit within hosting institutions and fosters the emergence of funding graveyards. This article introduces the Association for Research Infrastructures in the Humanities and Cultural Studies (GKFI). The legal form of a registered association (eingetragener Verein) enables the transition from individual institutional responsibility to a collective framework, distributing the burden of infrastructure provision and maintenance. Using the GKFI as a case study, we demonstrate how a curated service catalogue, the coordination of national nodes for European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs), and binding governance contribute to the stability of the research landscape (even without a financial budget). The association functions not as a replacement for project-based innovation, but as a complementary anchor of stability, ensuring the long-term availability of scholarly services independent of rigid funding durations. Thus, the GKFI serves as a blueprint for the sustainable provision of digital common goods in the humanities and cultural studies.