Merge pull request #2959 from alan-turing-institute/malvikasharan-pat…

…ch-1

Update research-infrastructure-roles.md to make sure we don't categorise them as 'support'

book/website/collaboration/research-infrastructure-roles.md

@@ -1,13 +1,22 @@
 (cl-research-infrastructure-roles)=
 # Research Infrastructure Roles: Introduction
 
-It is rare that successful collaborations occur without a person, or group of people, taking on the work of structuring participants interactions, facilitating work, and supporting the impact of the project.
+Successful research and scientific collaborations rarely occur without individuals, or teams, taking on the work of structuring participants' interactions, facilitating work, and supporting the impact of the project.
 These people may be either volunteers or paid, depending on a project's funding, size, length, and number of organisations involved.
 
-They're called **research infrastructure roles** because the work they perform is primarily to support the work of researchers, although research can also be a significant proportion of these roles as well.
+These are called **research infrastructure roles** because they provide specialised skills, expertise and services required for effectively carrying out and delivering high-quality research.
+
+```{note}
+**What is Research Infrastructure?**
+
+Physical or digital facilities, resources, expert workforces and specialised services available towards research and for the use of research communities is called Research Infrastructure.
+References: [Science Europe](https://scienceeurope.org/our-priorities/research-infrastructures/) and [National Institute of Health and Care Research](https://www.nihr.ac.uk/explore-nihr/support/research-infrastructure.htm)
+```
+
+Historically, some of these roles were seen as merely 'research support' roles, however, there has been a growing recognition that these are a crucial part of research teams, and often a significant proportion of these roles require research expertise.
 The specifics of these roles will vary but can include handling administrative work, managing data storage, stakeholder engagement, community management, communications, software engineering, events coordination, and a lot more.
 
-People performing these types of roles come from varied backgrounds, but will often have some research experience, although not necessarily in the field they are now working in.
+People performing these types of roles have varied professional experience and backgrounds, but will often have some research experience, although not necessarily in the field they are now working in.
 
 (cl-research-infrastructure-roles-prerequisites)=
 ## Prerequisites