The steps below describe how a country becomes a member of ELIXIR and establishes a Node. If you you would like to discuss your country becoming a member of ELIXIR, please contact andrew.smith [at] elixir-europe.org.

• A country makes an application to the ELIXIR Board to become a member. Normally it is the government of the country that makes the application, not the country's scientific community.
• Once the application has been approved, the country signs the ELIXIR Consortium Agreement (ECA). Observers are countries whose application has been approved by the Board, and who are working towards signing the Consortium Agreement.
• Once a country signs the ECA it becomes a full member of ELIXIR.
• The scientific community of that country then develops and submits a Node application. This lists the institutions in that country that will constitute the Node, and what services they will provide.
• The ELIXIR Board and the ELIXIR Scientific Advisory Board review the Node application.
• Once the Node application is approved, the lead institution of the Node then develops and signs a Collaboration Agreement with the ELIXIR Hub. This allows the Hub to transfer budget to the Node so that it can carry out technical activities such as Commissioned Services (e.g. Implementation Studies).
• During the above process, the Node also prepares a Service Delivery Plan (SDP). This lists all the services they will provide as part of ELIXIR. See the Services page for the current list of services.
• Each Node adopts its own process for selecting their nominated services. The ELIXIR Hub monitors the status of these services.
• Nodes are expected to comply with the ELIXIR Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Policy.

See also Governance FAQs.