On September 10th, 2024, SciLifeLab in Uppsala, Sweden, hosted the EVERSE Workshop, bringing together leaders in research software funding and policy. The event, held alongside the International Research Software Funders Workshop, provided a platform to discuss key challenges and opportunities in research software management.
A new checklist helps you find out!
Across research-performing organisations and funding bodies, a central question is gaining prominence: Do infrastructures effectively support responsible, transparent, and inclusive research assessment?
Many institutions have already committed to the principles outlined in the CoARA Agreement. They aim to move toward more contextual, fair, and diverse approaches to recognising contributions. Yet in practice, assessment workflows often continue to depend on systems that were not designed with these commitments in mind. Closed systems, limited interoperability, commercial lock-in, and opaque decision processes can unintentionally undermine efforts toward reform.
To address this gap, the CoARA Working Group Towards Open Infrastructures for Responsible Research Assessment (OI4RRA), co-chaired by OpenAIRE and CWTS, has developed a practical tool to support institutions in aligning their infrastructures with their policy objectives.
Introducing the Open Infrastructure Checklist
A structured, accessible guide that assists organisations in evaluating whether a given infrastructure is suitable for responsible research assessment.
Rooted in the OI4RRA Framework, the checklist translates its core principles into actionable considerations across four dimensions: technical robustness, operational capacity, community-centred governance, and ethical and inclusive foundations. These dimensions, clearly presented in framework output, enable teams to assess infrastructures in a systematic and transparent manner.
Its strength lies in its clarity. Rather than offering an exhaustive technical manual, the checklist supports targeted analysis and informed organisational discussions. As teams work through it, they often gain clearer insight into the capabilities and limitations of their existing systems. Some infrastructures may align well with open, transparent assessment practices; others may reveal challenges such as insufficient auditability, limited interoperability, or dependencies that constrain long-term strategic planning.
The checklist does not judge; it facilitates reflection and informed decision-making.
Equally important, it provides a shared reference point for different institutional stakeholders. Research managers, funding officers, IT services, libraries, and policy teams can use it collaboratively, ensuring that infrastructure decisions are consistent with the organisation’s broader strategy for research assessment reform.
Its development reflects the same collaborative philosophy. The checklist was refined with input from practitioners during the Open Science Fair 2025 workshop ‘’Collaborative Pathways to Responsible Research Assessment’’ Open Science FAIR - Collaborative Pathways to Responsible Research Assessment via Open Infrastructures and informed by the experience of a diverse range of organisations contributing to the Working Group.
The checklist is useful not only for organisations beginning their reform journey, but also for those already engaged in implementing responsible assessment practices. It can support procurement processes, internal reviews, policy development, and long-term planning related to research information systems and assessment infrastructures.The most effective way to understand its value is to apply it.
- Set aside a short amount of time with your team.
- Review the checklist together.
- Consider how the infrastructure you wish to transition to aligns with your goals.
Whether it confirms your current approach or highlights areas for further development, the checklist provides a constructive foundation for strengthening assessment systems in line with institutional commitments.
As assessment reform accelerates globally, tools like this support organisations in ensuring that their infrastructures keep pace with policy ambitions. Transparent, open, interoperable, and community-governed systems are increasingly recognised as essential components of trustworthy research evaluation.
Explore the checklist here !
Use it to guide your next steps toward responsible research assessment.
ARION kicks off! This September, ARION, a new Horizon Europe project coordinated by OpenAIRE, officially begins. The project will help institutions move from commitments on research assessment reform to practical, sustainable change.
In a significant move to bolster Netherlands' (NL) research infrastructure, Open Science NL has recently awarded €35 million to 45 projects dedicated to making scholarly data, software, and publications more accessible and transparent. OpenAIRE is pleased to be working alongside SURF in two of these strategic four-year initiatives: DURF and BROCCOLI.
Get Ready for an extensive recap! The CoARA WG Co-Chairs Forum 2024, held on September 11th in Helsinki, brought together key stakeholders to drive forward pivotal discussions on evolving research assessment. Keep reading for more insights and outcomes from the event!
CWTS and OpenAIRE are delighted to announce the next steps we have agreed to take to deepen our relationship and strengthen our collaboration.
Hot on the heels of the completion of theEOSC Symposium, an important update from theEOSC Beyond project!
On January 23, 2025, the Pattern Remake Workshop brought together researchers, facilitators, and citizen scientists to discuss emerging trends in Open & Responsible Research and Innovation. Held in a hybrid format, it connected participants across Europe, with in-person sessions at Politecnico di Milano.
The PathOS training programme is off to a great start, providing insights and guidance to a diverse range of Open Science stakeholders, including policy officers, funders, university executives, research infrastructure managers, librarians, Open Science experts, researchers and scientometricians. The primary goal of PathOS training is to equip these groups with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to utilize PathOS outputs effectively. Are you interested in learning more about training on how to measure impact of Open Science?
From bold principles to real-world change: at the Open Science Fair 2025 in Geneva, the workshop “Collaborative Pathways to Responsible Research Assessment via Open Infrastructures” tackled the pressing question of how to truly reform research assessment. The global debate has moved beyond why change is needed; now it’s about how to build the infrastructures, both technical and social, that can turn vision into practice.
At the latest CoARA Spotlight, the OI4RRA Working Group presented the three outputs the group has produced over its 24-month mandate, now endorsed and available in the CoARA Collection. The session set out why it matters for the research community trying to put responsible research assessment into practice through an infrastructural lens.
The CoARA Working Towards Open Infrastructures for Responsible Research Assessment (OI4RRA) has just published a game-changing output. Read the article and learn all the details.
REWIRE kicks off this September! This new project will support the wider adoption of reproducible research practices and strengthening trust in research outcomes.
The AI in Science Working Groups, organised by the SCIANCE project, are now open for participation. Open to researchers, technologists, policymakers and industry practitioners, these ten thematic groups will collectively design the European Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda for AI in Science. The call closes on 10 April 2026.
OpenAIRE, as part of the EVERSE project, is delighted to invite you to two key events happening this February. Keep reading for more details!
The EOSC-Association recently launched Opportunity Area 7 (OA7): Research Software, an initiative with the mission to highlight research software as a first-class research output. OA7 aims to advance Open Science by enhancing the EOSC ecosystem, fostering sustainable research software infrastructures, and promoting quality and reuse practices.
Europe is taking strategic action to secure its digital future. With the launch of LLMs4Europe, a flagship initiative funded by the Digital Europe Programme and coordinated by ALT-EDIC, over 70 partners from across the continent are uniting to develop open, trustworthy, and multilingual Large Language Models (LLMs) tailored to Europe's specific requirements.
As research software becomes increasingly central to scientific discovery, the need for systematic approaches to ensuring its quality, reliability, and sustainability has become critical. The newly released Research Software Quality Toolkit from EVERSE addresses this challenge.
The OpenPlato team has been busy, not only enriching the platform with new, high-value training material but also giving the site a visual and structural refresh to improve your learning experience. As many of you already know, OpenPlato is OpenAIRE’s open e-learning hub for Open Science, a space that brings together curated self-paced content, thematic modules, and trainer resources across a wide range of topics, from FAIR data to policy alignment and beyond.
This latest update to the platform brings a mix of newly released and updated content, including multilingual resources, tools for trainers, and practical courses aimed at researchers, data stewards, and research support professionals.
Read on to explore what’s new and follow the links to dive straight into the content most relevant to your Open Science goals:
Open Access Material from the PATTERN Project
The Open Access material is organized into two categories tailored to different audiences: one for trainers, and one as self-paced courses for individual learners. To reach a broader community, the 1st self-paced course has been made available in four additional languages: Turkish, Croatian, Portuguese, and Greek.
Open Access – Material for Trainers
This thematic area now features dedicated training material designed for trainers.
- Trusted Publishers for My Research: Decoding Good Practices & Overcoming Predatory Publishers - available on OpenPlatoDeveloped by: University of Minho
Equip yourself with the skills to help researchers recognize and avoid predatory publishing practices.
- Empowering Researchers: Retaining Copyright and Maximizing Your Impact in Open Access Publishing - available on OpenPlatoDeveloped by: University of Minho team
A deep dive into author rights, licensing, and visibility in the Open Access landscape.
Open Access – Self-paced Course
Also from PATTERN, this course tackles common challenges and misconceptions in Open Access publishing.
The content is now available in five languages:
- Open Access Publishing: Overcoming the Challenges and Busting the Myths (EN) - available on OpenPlatoDeveloped by: University of Minho team
- Açık Erişim Yayıncılık: Zorlukların Üstesinden Gelme ve Mitleri Yıkma (TR) - available on OpenPlatoTranslated by: Izmir Institute of Technology team
- Publicação em Acesso Aberto: Superar os Desafios e Ultrapassar os Mitos (PT) - available on OpenPlatoTranslated by: University of Minho team
- Objavljivanje u otvorenom pristupu: suočavanje s izazovima i razotkrivanje mitova (HR) - available on OpenPlatoTranslated by: Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) team
- Δημοσίευση σε Καθεστώς Ανοικτής Πρόσβασης: Αντιμετώπιση Προκλήσεων και Προκαταλήψεων (EL) - available on OpenPlatoTranslated by: HEAL-Link team
This multilingual rollout reflects PATTERN’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility in Open Science training all around Europe.
Research Data Management (for the Greek community)
- Διαχείριση Ερευνητικών Δεδομένων: Από τη Δημιουργία στην Αρχειοθέτηση - available on OpenPlatoDeveloped by: E. Papadopoulou -Athena Research Center and OpenAIRE
This new 3-lesson Greek-language course introduces participants to the core concepts and practices of research data management. The course walks learners through the data lifecycle, from creation to archiving, and explores best practices for data organization, documentation, storage, and security.
Participants will gain a strong understanding of Data Management Plans (DMPs), the importance of data sharing, and how to critically assess trusted repositories in the context of Open Science.
New Course: DMPs for Research Success
- DMPs for Research Success: Tools and Techniques for Data Stewards- available on OpenPlatoDeveloped by: E.Papadopoulou- Athena Research Center and OpenAIRE
This brand-new course is now available and consists of four in-depth lessons. Designed for data stewards, librarians, archivists, curators, and research support staff, the course introduces the fundamentals of DMPs and provides practical training using the ARGOS tool.
Participants will also learn how to build tailored templates and integrate DMP workflows into institutional research support systems, aligning their practices with FAIR data and Open Science principles.
With each update, OpenPlato becomes more robust, inclusive, and useful to the wider Open Science community. Whether you’re a returning user or just getting started, now is the perfect time to explore what’s new and take your next steps in Open Science training.
Please keep in mind that to access the full content, you have first log in to the platform. Have a question about any of the new content or OpenPlato’s training modes? Reach out to our Training Coordinator at theodora.kavvadia@openaire.eu to find out more!
At this year’s Open Science Conference 2025 in Hamburg, OpenAIRE played a key role in exploring how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming research practices and infrastructures. Read on about our contributions.