Lessons from Open Science across European Universities: policies, practices, and future directions

Abstract

Open Science, which encompasses all scholarly disciplines, is increasingly recognised as a core feature of academic practice: it has the potential to improve the accessibility and integrity of academic outputs, as well as the culture within which academics work to pursue these. However, this recognition is neither equal nor universal across institutions and countries: open science policies, support, practices, and recognition are more advanced in some regions than others, which poses both challenges and opportunities. A challenge is to demonstrate the many benefits to those institutions and regions that are not yet recognising and embracing the potential of open science. An opportunity is to learn from the different structures and approaches that are being taken so that we can identify common challenges, best-practice solutions, and future opportunities. 

This talk focused on open science policies and practices among members of LERU (the League of European Research Universities) and their host nations. While Europe is at the vanguard of open science, there are many differences in the approaches taken among European universities and countries. Considering these differences will help to identify ways in which we can best realise the potential of open science.