Public research policies must therefore take a long-term perspective to ensure that the system is able to contribute to future economic growth, technological progress and sustainable development. In particular, the public research sector has an important role to play in terms of understanding and developing solutions to global challenges including those involving the environment, health and energy. Moreover, because these public research institutions play multiple roles in knowledge economies, their governance cannot focus on one-dimensional or short-term needs (see Chapter 7). At its most fundamental, research infrastructure comprises roads and communications, particularly around physical clusters or technology hubs. It needs to be complemented by sustained public funding for more specific infrastructure - basic scientific capacity for public purposes, such as forecasting, response to health outbreaks, policy support, libraries and databases.