OpenAIRE is a key infrastructure for the implementation of the EU's Open Science policy

 How does FECYT support Open Science in Spain?

The Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) is a public institution that depends on the Ministry for Science and Innovation. We work to design and implement the National and the European Open Access and Open Science policies for them.

We contribute as in-house Open Science experts in the writing process of legal, strategic and planification official documents such as (1) the reform of the National legal framework affecting Open Access and Open Science; (2) the six-year Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (EECTI); (3) the three-year State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (PEICTI); (4) the forthcoming National Strategy for Open Science.

Also, we provide specific Open Science services to our national research community: First, we manage the national harvester for Open Access repositories RECOLECTA. Second, we manage the Open Science National funding call "María de Guzmán" (1M euro) that offers funding for Open Access repositories, CRIS systems, and Diamond journals' institutional publishing platforms. Third, we provide training services to our national community through regular workshops, seminars, and conferences, both face-to-face and online, for researchers, support staff, librarians, repository managers, and public decision-makers.

When and why did you decide to join OpenAIRE and become a NOAD?

FECYT joined the OpenAIRE consortia in its first edition (in 2009!) and we have remained as a consortium member throughout all the renewed editions. We are very happy to have been the Spanish NOADs during all these years. It has brought us the opportunity to improve the Open Science practices in Spain and we have learned a lot from our OpenAIRE colleagues on how to better do our job. Besides, the synergies between OpenAIRE and RECOLECTA are very strong in all aspects related to the standardization of identifiers and the interoperability of Open Access repositories. We are enthusiastic implementers of the OpenAIRE Guidelines among the Spanish repositories!

What do you think is missing in Spain to fully embrace Open Science? 

The institutional and administrative arrangements of the funding institutions, the performing organisations, and the assessment agencies in Spain are very specific and different from other countries. While the R&D performing competencies belong to the regional governments, most of the funding and assessment competencies are centralised under the National government. Therefore, our Universities and RPOs have no significant degrees of freedom to implement in-house open science policies. This is especially problematic when it comes to rewards and incentives. Besides, we would need to increase our public funding in Open Science digital infrastructures and strengthen the FAIR data management human resources.

What are your top three priorities you will focus on in the next year? 

 How do you think OpenAIRE will help you succeed?

OpenAIRE is a key infrastructure for the implementation of the European Union's Open Science policy. For FECYT, being part of OpenAIRE is a strategic alliance that brings support to our national harvester and confers meaning to many of the services that we provide. Through OpenAIRE, we belong to an international community that contributes to improving our certification and harvesting services, as well as our training activities. Besides, it also facilitates our participation in larger consortia for the Horizon Europe calls that keep us updated with the latest advancements in the Research Infrastructures topics.

 Get in touch with our NOADs in Spain!