When governments decide whether to invest in long-term international research infrastructures such as ESO, what factors shape their decisions? Is scientific excellence sufficient? What additional returns do Member States expect?
As part of my role, I report regularly to ESO’s Member States on the national impact and benefits of membership. While scientific leadership and discovery remain integral, they represent only part of the value proposition that governments evaluate.
I will speak on the broader framework within which governments assess participation in large-scale astronomy organisations. How expectations have evolved, the role of science diplomacy in decision making, and the role of astronomers in the long-term organisational sustainability for ESO.

An Informal Discussion showcasing the analysis of Chen et al. 2025, “Who Uses Whose Telescopes? Analyzing the Knowledge Geography and Research Dominance of Global Astronomical Facilities”, sparked curiosity about the initiatives ESO has supported in Chile (its hosting country) regarding scientific and technological advancement. Since 1995, ESO has committed to supporting the development of astronomy in Chile, in the form of direct funding for research, education and training. We will show the main legal basis of the involvement of ESO in the development of astronomy in Chile, based on the “Acuerdo” for the construction of telescopes and its further modifications. Then, we will discuss the variety of astronomy initiatives supported by ESO, with an emphasis on the projects financed by the “Comite Mixto ESO-Chile", including its regional call, and the participation of Chilean students and postdocs in ESO programs.

NASA has invited the ADS team to further expand to other Earth and space science disciplines. Thus, SciX was born as a new service built on top of ADS infrastructure and databases. By serving a broader range of disciplines, SciX will also foster cross-disciplinary discovery. In this Informal Discussion, I will provide an overview of the current situation, ADS’ way forward, and present SciX. Particular emphasis will be put on how researchers can use SciX effectively with minimal changes to their established workflows.