The OPUS project
Coordination and support measures to reform the assessment of research(ers)
The OPUS project aims to promote open science practices and enhance research assessment by providing a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to evaluating research impact.Open science is an essential component of responsible research assessment promoting transparency, reproducibility, collaboration, and innovation in scientific research in an era of transition to a „new culture" that the digital evolutions drive. As such, it is important for researchers, funders, and policymakers to support and incentivize open science practices to ensure that scientific research is conducted and evaluated rigorously and responsibly. In this regard, we face, at the European level, the need and challenge to develop a more inclusive and diverse approach to research assessment that takes into account a wider range of factors, including data sharing, collaboration, and societal impact, addressing some of the limitations and biases of traditional research assessment methods.
Projects like GraspOS aim, as presented here, to tackle this challenge, support and guide the move towards a more responsible research assessment in complementarity and alignment to other projects such as The Open and Universal Science – OPUS.
The Open and Universal Science (OPUS) project aims to promote open science practices and enhance research assessment by providing a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to evaluating research impact.
OPUS is a Horizon Europe-funded project with a duration of 36 months that started on 1st September 2022, with estimated eligible costs of a total of almost 2 million euros, having 18 different European partners involved, covering a wide range of organizations with relevant expertise.
The main goal of the project is to develop coordination and support measures to reform the assessment of research(ers). OPUS involves the development of a research assessment framework that incorporates open science indicators, as well as other quantitative and qualitative metrics; the framework aims to provide a flexible and adaptable approach to research assessment, which can be tailored to the needs of different research communities and contexts. The framework also seeks to promote greater transparency and accountability in research assessment by involving a range of stakeholders in the assessment process, including researchers, funders, and policymakers.
These practices will be set up, implemented, and monitored in 3 RPOs - - the Nova University Lisbon, the University of Rijeka, and the University of Cyprus, but also in two pilot Research Funding Organizations (RFOs) from Lithuania and Romania - RCL and UEFISCDI. Through these actions and mutual learning, the pilot organizations will enhance their knowledge and experience in Open Science, build trust, and encourage the adoption of Open Science practices within their communities. The outcomes of the pilot activities will serve the scope and the specific objectives of OPUS and help drive the implementation of Open Science policies in the future through further actions to develop and disseminate policy briefs on Open Science and a revised OS-CAM to assess research careers. The policy briefs will summarize the key findings of the project, provide lessons learned and further guidance, and link to the wider global context of Open Science.
In addition, the OPUS project also involves a range of dissemination and outreach activities aimed at promoting Open Science practices and enhancing the uptake of the project's outputs.
OPUS consortium:
• Consorcio Para El Diseno, Construccion, Equipamiento Y Explotacion De La Plataforma Oceanica De Canarias – PLOCAN, Spain – coordinator
• United Nations Educational Scientific And Cultural Organization – UNESCO, France
• International Consortium Of Research Staff Associations Company Limited By Guarantee - ICoRSA, Ireland
• Careers Research And Advisory Centre - CRAC LIMITED, United Kingdom
• Universidade Nova De Lisboa - UNL, Portugal
• Technopolis Consulting Group Belgium - TGB, Belgium
• Young European Research Universities Network – YERUN, Belgium
• JISC LBG, United Kingdom
• Eurodoc-Le Conseil Europeen Des Doctorants Et Jeunes Docteurs - EURODOC, Belgium
• Unitatea Executiva Pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior a Cercetarii Dezvoltarii Si Inovarii - UEFISCDI, Romania
• Lietuvos mokslo taryba - RCL, Lithuania
• The Academy Of Business In Society - ABIS, Belgium
• Marie Curie Alumni Association - MCAA, Belgium
• Sveuciliste U Rijeci - UNIRI, Croatia
• Trustinside, France
• Vilniaus Universitetas - VU, Lithuania
• Resolvo SRL - RESOLVO SRL, Italy
• University Of Cyprus – UCY, Cyprus

OPUS Home - Open and Universal Science (OPUS) Project
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