Strategic research infrastructure consists of devices and units, which not only have a unique character at a European and international scale, but also which are crucial for development of scientific research.

In  2011 the Ministry of Science and Higher Education presented the Polish Roadmap for Research Infrastructure for the first time. At that time, the map included 33 project which were vital for the development of Polish science and increase of its competitiveness. Since 2013 works on its updating had been in progress, the results of which were announced by the resort at the beginning of August 2014.

Of 100 proposals of undertakings received, assessed by a panel of experts, 20 new projects were included in the list, and 5, which have already been there, have been modified.  As a result the updated list includes 53 proposals from the various fields of science, i.e.: from the field of physical sciences and mathematics - 14, technical sciences - 14, sciences on Earth and biological sciences - 11, interdisciplinary issues - 6, medical and agricultural sciences - 6, humanities and social sciences - 2.

Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łódź, once again, has been included on the Polish Roadmap for Research Infrastructure. A project coordinated by NIOM – the project of the European Institute of Environmental Cancer (EIEC) belongs to the category ‘Efficient health protection and an increase in the effectiveness of health promotion activities’.

European Institute of Environmental Cancer (EIEC) has a form of a centrally coordinated network acting on a basis of a contact-consortium facilitating integration of Polish institutes, clinics and highly specialized laboratories, which expedites performance of research the aim of which is to explain, by the use of biomarkers, associations between environmental conditions, nutrition, genetic factors and incidence of neoplasms. Establishing such a national center enabled integration of scattered Polish research teams in the field which is extremely complicated and which requires modern and multidisciplinary approach.

Inclusion of a given unit or device on the Polish Roadmap for Research Infrastructure constitutes an asset at the moment of applying for financial support for investment. The turn of 2016/2017 is an anticipated by the Ministry of Science date of the next update of the map.