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Welcome to 8th edition of OPUS Newsletter
Find out latest news about OPUS activities and blogs
Key Highlights from 4 OPUS Pilot Projects
The OPUS project is currently testing its Research Assessment Framework (RAF) with five pilot institutions, including University of Rijeka, Nova University, The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development, and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) and University of Cyprus.
University of Rijeka - Nataša Jakominić-Marot (OPUS RPO Pilot)
The University of Rijeka (UNIRI) is proudly participating as one of the pilot Research Performing Organisations in the Open and Universal Science (OPUS) Project. This innovative initiative has developed a Research Assessment Framework (RAF) designed to introduce a comprehensive set of interventions and indicators promoting Open Science practices. The goal is to create a system that incentivises and rewards researchers for embracing these practices.
UNIRI has been at the forefront of integrating innovative research assessment practices that align with Open Science principles. The RAF has fostered greater collaboration among researchers, enhancing interdisciplinary projects and partnerships.
The University of Rijeka’s involvement in the OPUS project underscores its commitment to fostering an environment where innovative research practices are encouraged and rewarded. Stay tuned for the full video interview to gain deeper insights into UNIRI’s journey and the impact of the OPUS Research Assessment Framework.
Nova University Lisbon - Hélder Lopes, PhD (OPUS RPO Pilot)
Nova University is at the forefront of reshaping research assessment as part of its commitment to open science and international standards. As one of the pilots in the Open and Universal Science (OPUS) project, Nova University is actively working to reform research evaluation processes, ensuring they incentivize practices that enhance the quality and societal impact of research.
One notable initiative is the Nova Research Impact Narratives Challenge, launched last year, which encourages faculty and researchers to articulate the real-world impact of their research in a compelling and understandable way. This initiative underscores the university’s focus on moving beyond traditional bibliometrics and funding metrics, highlighting how research benefits society at large.
Through participation in projects like OPUS, Nova University reflects on its practices, exchanges experiences with partners, and drives positive change. The university is piloting new ways of assessing research, particularly in areas like citizen science projects and software development, to better align with global open science strategies and best practices.
UEFISCDI - Ioana Spanache (Policy and Evaluation Specialist)
The Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development, and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) in Romania is making significant strides in modernizing research assessment through its participation in the OPUS project. As one of the pilot organizations testing the OPUS Research Assessment Framework, UEFISCDI is focused on introducing interventions and indicators that incentivize and reward researchers for adopting open science practices.
One of the agency’s notable strengths lies in its comprehensive research assessment procedures, which balance quantitative and qualitative indicators. The use of platforms like Brainmap, which boasts over 60,000 registered accounts from researchers worldwide, and the UDiManager and eVoks platforms, has significantly streamlined operations, improving data accuracy and efficiency.
The OPUS framework has already influenced UEFISCDI’s approach to research assessment, prompting the introduction of new indicators in pilot funding calls, such as those for centers of excellence. The framework also aligns with ongoing efforts in other projects like the GRASP-OS, where UEFISCDI is developing a new researcher profile model that emphasizes openness and responsible research assessment.
University of Cyprus - Dr. Marios Demetriades (Director of UCY R&I Support Service)
The University of Cyprus is making significant strides in enhancing research assessments and promoting open science through its participation in the OPUS project. As a research-performing organization pilot, the university is aligning with European Union directives to improve its open science practices and research assessment processes.
The University of Cyprus has already demonstrated its commitment to this cause by signing both the DORA Declaration and the COARA agreement. These commitments have led the university to review and revise its research assessment policies and practices.
Despite the challenges, the introduction of the OPUS research assessment framework is already making a positive impact. It has provided a clearer context for open science activities and helped the university map out potential actions for further integrating open science into its research assessments. By reflecting on the OPUS framework, the University of Cyprus is building a pilot that aims to significantly improve research assessment processes, with a particular focus on embedding open science at all levels.
Read more pilot success stories by clicking button below
Stay up-to-date with daily blogs posted on our website
Most popular Open Science blogs
We have chosen the most read blogs and articles about Open Science topics specially for you. Take few minutes and learn more about currently open calls, research evaluation, research data management and analysis of Open Access book written by Stephen Pinfield.
National ORD Prize 2024: Application Period Extended Until August 31st!
The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences have extended the application deadline for the prestigious National Prize for Open Research Data (ORD Prize) 2024 until August 31, 2024, 5:00 PM CET. This prize aims to recognize individual researchers and research teams for their innovative practices in the field of Open Research Data (ORD), promoting the transition to open research practices and supporting transparency, reproducibility, and collaboration in the scientific community.
The prize is open to researchers at all career stages and across all scientific disciplines, working at Swiss research institutions such as universities, federal institutes, and universities of applied sciences. Early-career researchers are also encouraged to participate. Applications can be submitted individually or through nominations by others, making this year’s competition even more inclusive.
Research Evaluation Should be Pragmatic, Not a Choice Between Peer Review and Metrics
Giovanni Abramo argues for a nuanced approach to research assessment amidst rising movements like DORA and CoARA, which advocate for qualitative judgments over quantitative metrics. CoARA, supported by the European Research Area (ERA), seeks to shift the focus from metrics to peer review, suggesting that research evaluation should primarily rely on qualitative assessment, with quantitative indicators as supportive tools.
Abramo calls for a balanced approach, combining the strengths of both metrics and peer review. In fields with extensive bibliographic coverage, scientometrics can complement peer review, while in others, peer review remains crucial. The goal should be to blend these methods to create a comprehensive and nuanced assessment of research impact.
What is Data Stewardship and Why is It Important?
In today’s digital world, data has become one of the most valuable resources for organizations. From businesses and governments to researchers and nonprofits, data drives decision-making, innovation, and growth. However, with the increasing reliance on data comes the critical need to manage it effectively and responsibly.
Data stewardship refers to the management and oversight of an organization’s data assets to ensure they are properly collected, stored, maintained, and used. A data steward is responsible for ensuring that data is accurate, accessible, secure, and compliant with relevant regulations and policies. Unlike data governance, which involves setting the overall policies and standards for data management, data stewardship is more hands-on, focusing on the implementation and enforcement of these policies on a day-to-day basis.
Achieving Global Open Access by Stephen Pinfield
Stephen Pinfield’s book, Achieving Global Open Access, delves into the crucial conditions necessary to realize an effective and equitable global Open Access (OA) system. While OA is often celebrated as a self-evident good, Pinfield addresses growing concerns that it may perpetuate global inequities and epistemic injustices. Critics argue that OA can impose exploitative business models, reinforce exclusionary research practices, and marginalize certain forms of knowledge.
Stephen Pinfield, a Professor of Information Services Management at the University of Sheffield and a Senior Research Fellow at the Research on Research Institute, brings extensive experience to this work. He has been a prominent figure in scholarly communication, open science, and research policy since the early 2000s. As the founding Director of Sherpa, Pinfield played a pivotal role in developing open systems and services that support the global OA community.
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Open and Universal Science Project |
The OPUS project is an EU-funded project implemented by an eighteen-organisations consortium led by The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN). The project commenced on 1 September 2022 with an implementation period of 36 months. |
What We Do? |
OPUS helps reform the assessment of research towards a system that incentivises and rewards researchers to take up Open Science (OS) practices of providing open access to research outputs, early and open sharing of research, participation in open peer-review, measures to ensure reproducibility of results, and involving all stakeholders in co-creation. |
OS Ecosystem State-of-the-Art OPUS conducted a comprehensive state-of-the-art on existing literature and initiatives for Open Science to reform research(er) assessment and incentivise and reward Open Science practices. It includes a stakeholder engagement plan OS Interventions OPUS developed indicators and interventions for Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) to implement a reformed research(er) assessment system that incentivises and rewards Open Science. Pilots to Implement and Monitor Open Science OPUS sets up, implements, and monitors the pilots’ open science practices in 3 RPOs and 2 RFOs, and conducts mutual learning exercises based on implementing the action plans. Policy Brief OPUS will develop and disseminate policy briefs on Open Science and a revised OS-CAM to assess research careers. The policy briefs will summarise the key findings of the project and link to the wider global context of Open Science. |
Project number: 101058471 |
HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01 The OPUS project is financed by European Union through the GRANT AGREEMENT concluded with the European Research Executive Agency (REA), under the powers delegated by the European Commission. |
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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