The inaugural session reflected on the Monitor’s first year, explored its key features, and addressed data quality challenges, particularly in ensuringorganizational consistency. Through live demonstrations and discussions, the session set the tone for the series: a collaborative effort to deepen the Monitor’s role in advancing Open Access in Ireland.

For those who could not attend, therecording and slides are available. Whether you are new to the Monitor or already familiar with it, we hope you will join us at the next session onJanuary 23, 2025.

Looking Back: Building the Foundation

Since its launch inMarch 2024, the National Open Access Monitor has focused on providing a practical platform to support Open Science and decision-making. Including

• Delivering tailored dashboards to meet the needs of the Irish research community.

• Enhancing data quality throughsystematic processes, including text mining, deduplication, and metadata validation.

• Encouraging adoption by integrating features, functionalities, and documentation to fit seamlessly into organizational workflows. (e.g., the Monitoruser actions)

Steps taken to shape the Monitor into a resource that addresses both the needs of its users and the challenges of Open Access tracking.

 Exploring the Monitor’s Features

The session included a walkthrough of the Monitor’sfive dashboards: the National, for Research Funding Organisations (RFOs), Research Performing Organisations (RPOs), Institutional Repositories and Researchers. Attendees saw how these dashboards answer key questions for stakeholders and explored their filtering, embedding, browsing, and validation functionalities.  The live demonstrations highlighted the practical workflows within the dashboards. 

 Tackling Data Quality with OpenOrgs

Data quality emerged as a central theme during the session, with a focus onOpenOrgs, a tool addressing the challenge of organizational disambiguation. Research organizations often appear under multiple names or identifiers, complicating analysis and reporting. OpenOrgs bridges this gap by semi-automatically (automation + curation)

• Identifying and consolidating duplicate entries to ensure consistency.

• Clarifying relationships between parent and child organizations, such as universities and their departments.

• Providing dashboard managers with tools to curate and refine organizational data.

The session included a live demonstration of OpenOrgs, showing its potential to reduce administrative burdens and deliver accurate, actionable insights. Questions during the demo centered on usability, metadata prioritization, and how the Monitor reflects these results transparently in dashboards. Without robust data quality, consistent and reliable insights are impossible—a key point that will be revisited in the next session.

What’s Next: Data Quality and AI Insights

The second session in theOpen Insights Series will take place onJanuary 23, 2025, at 12:00 GMT. This session will build on the themes of data quality and technology, diving into:

• Data Quality Practices: Updates on improving metadata consistency, deduplication processes, and accuracy.

• AI and Text Mining: How these advanced tools are helping the Monitor extract meaningful patterns and identify trends in Open Access.

• Interactive Q&A: An opportunity to connect with the data quality team and address specific challenges.

Why Your Voice Matters

TheOpen Insights Series is about fostering collaboration and building a shared understanding of how the Monitor can advance Open Science in Ireland. Your participation helps shape the conversation, ensuring these tools meet the diverse needs of policymakers, institutions, and researchers.

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