Strengthening Open Research Information in Greece: Reflections from the Barcelona Declaration Event

On 24 November 2025, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the Athena Research Center (ARC) brought together members of the Greek research community for an event dedicated to the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information. Hosted at the Law School Library's Small Amphitheatre, the gathering reaffirmed the growing momentum in Greece toward more transparent, interoperable, and community-driven research information systems.

The evening opened with insights from Bianca Kramer, Executive Director of the Barcelona DORI, who outlined the international vision behind the Declaration and stressed the need to move research information away from closed, proprietary systems toward open, verifiable infrastructures governed by the scientific community. Her contribution highlighted the urgency and collaborative nature of this transition.

Thanasis Vergoulis (Athena RC) followed with an overview of why the ARC joined the Declaration and how research infrastructures can embed openness at scale. His talk showed that Greece is already active in this landscape, but must address several systemic obstacles to fully align with international developments.

Greece's emerging capacities in research monitoring and bibliometrics were a central focus of the discussion, with Zisis Simeoforidis (HEAL-Link) highlighting national efforts to create a more coherent and reliable evidence base for research activity. Within this context, ABACUS, a new national research-activity monitoring infrastructure for Greece developed in collaboration with OpenAIRE, stands out as an important step toward modernising how Greece collects and interprets research information. More than a technical platform, ABACUS represents the country's first coordinated approach to transparent and interoperable research monitoring. Built upon the OpenAIRE Graph, one of the world's largest knowledge graphs that interlinks millions of publications, datasets, software records, projects, organisations, and funding streams, providing a rich and interconnected view of research activity, ABACUS offers institutions and national authorities a clearer, more trustworthy view of Greek research output, supporting responsible assessment, reducing reporting burdens, and strengthening the visibility of Greek scholarship. At the same time, its rollout has exposed key systemic gaps, such as incomplete affiliations, uneven ORCID adoption, and inconsistent metadata, that require collective action. In this way, ABACUS acts as a catalyst for improvement, helping identify where coordination, investment, and policy alignment are most needed across the research ecosystem.

The central role of the OpenAIRE Graph directly complements the themes raised by Natalia Manola (OpenAIRE), who underscored that responsible and transparent research assessment depends on open, verifiable, and community-governed infrastructures. She emphasised that transparency and fairness in evaluation rely on indicators derived from open data rather than proprietary systems. The OpenAIRE Graph operationalises this principle precisely: it provides the open evidence base upon which fair assessment practices, national monitoring tools like ABACUS, and Greece's broader Open Science ambitions can confidently build.

The final presentation by Spyros Athanasiou (EPΑE / HELIX) framed these discussions within Greece's broader Open Science evolution, highlighting the transition from the EPΑE platform to the new national infrastructure HELIX. His talk underscored that Greece is at a strategic turning point: equipped with emerging tools but requiring stronger coordination, better-quality data, and sustained institutional support.

Challenges for Greece in Advancing Open Research Information

Across all presentations, a clear picture emerged of the challenges Greece must overcome to adopt the principles of the Barcelona Declaration and develop a mature ecosystem for open research information.

A major obstacle is the fragmentation of research information across repositories, CRIS systems, funder databases, and institutional platforms that follow different standards and practices. This lack of interoperability restricts Greece's ability to construct a coherent national view of research activity and to connect effectively with European infrastructures.

Another significant challenge is limited institutional capacity. Many universities and research organisations rely on small teams managing multiple responsibilities, from data stewardship and repository oversight to compliance and reporting. As expectations around FAIR practices and open bibliometrics grow, institutions require greater expertise and sustained support.

The event also revealed cultural and policy barriers. While Open Access is widely understood, opening research information, such as funding linkages, collaborations, or evaluation indicators, can still raise concerns about transparency and interpretation. As Natalia Manola noted, ''Openness must be accompanied by trust, clear governance, and shared assessment principles.''

A further challenge concerns sustainability. Open Science initiatives in Greece, though promising, depend on project-based funding. Long-term governance and stable support are essential for infrastructures to remain functional, aligned with European standards, and capable of serving institutional needs in a reliable manner.

Finally, Greece needs a more coordinated national strategy that brings together institutional efforts and aligns them with European developments such as EOSC, the Barcelona Declaration, and ongoing reforms in research assessment.

Moving Forward

The Barcelona Declaration event offered both optimism and realism. Greece has the expertise, commitment, and emerging infrastructures needed to contribute meaningfully to the international movement toward open research information. Continued progress will depend on strengthening institutional capacities, improving data quality, ensuring sustainability, and shaping a coordinated national vision aligned with European priorities.

OpenAIRE, alongside national partners and the research community, will continue to support Greece in this transition, helping to build an ecosystem where research information is transparent, trustworthy, and openly available for the benefit of science and society.