Open Insights Session #5: Future Pathways & Community Insights

As part of the Open Insights series, this session invited the community to reflect on progress made in the first phase of the Irish National Open Access Monitor, share practical feedback, and look ahead. Far from a closing event, the session marked an inflection point: a shared space to take stock and to help shape what comes next.

We also welcomed two contributors whose work informs current thinking on Open Science monitoring: Jessica Catalano (CSIL, PathOS project) and Iain Hrynaszkiewicz (PLOS, Open Science Monitoring Initiative - OSMI). Their insights helped contextualize the Irish Monitor within wider efforts to understand, evaluate, and sustain Open Science practices.

A Growing Toolset for a Growing Community

Developed to support Ireland's national Open Access goals, the Monitor offers five dashboard views, for research-performing organisations, research funders, institutional repositories, individual researchers, and the national level. These dashboards help track trends, assess uptake over time, and benchmark performance.

Under the hood, the Monitor draws on the OpenAIRE Graph, complemented by functionalities built specifically to support the Irish context: ORCID integration for author disambiguation, DOI-based comparison tools, repository connection via PROVIDE, affiliation cleaning with OpenOrgs, and more. A sandbox allows organisations to explore and validate their data quality.

Since its launch, the Monitor has gained significant traction:

• 69 organisations, including 48 RPOs and 21 RFOs, have registered dashboard managers

• Many others engaged through helpdesk support and webinars

• Noticeable improvements in metadata have been observed, especially among institutions we've worked with directly

• Targeted text mining has significantly improved dashboard completeness for funders like SFI, IRC, and HRB

• Institutions have already begun using the Monitor to support internal workflows.

Listening Closely: What the Community Told Us

The Monitor is built on public metadata, and early feedback highlighted the importance of alignment between this metadata and internal records. These conversations underscored that the Monitor functions not just as a tracking tool, but as a mirror for institutional practices.

Community input also revealed key needs:

• Guidance to help interpret and use dashboard information effectively

• Training for faculty, research support staff, and librarians

• A Monitor that adapts to local contexts and provides pathways for progress

What's Next

Building on what we learned, we are:

• Preparing case studies that illustrate how institutions are using the Monitor

• Expanding training and onboarding materials tailored to the needs of dashboard managers

• Exploring the creation of a community of practice to foster peer exchange across institutions, repositories, and funders (as requested by our users!)

• Planning enhancements to the researcher dashboard, including support for narrative CV elements and indicators aligned with responsible research assessment

The Monitor remains active and responsive. The next phase will be shaped by user needs, ongoing engagement, and collaborative development.

Insights from the Broader Landscape

Jessica Catalano shared lessons from PathOS, a Horizon Europe project modeling the academic, societal, and economic impacts of Open Science. Through case studies, indicator design, and cost-benefit analysis, PathOS offers frameworks to help policymakers evaluate the effects of Open Science investments. It also highlights the need for robust data, methodological clarity, and stakeholder-informed design.

Iain Hrynaszkiewicz introduced the Open Science Monitoring Initiative (OSMI), an international collaboration working toward a set of shared principles for Open Science monitoring. The initiative builds on ongoing work in France, Denmark, and beyond, and reflects the growing recognition, articulated by forums like the G7 and UNESCO, that monitoring must evolve to reflect the full range of Open Science practices, including infrastructure, software, citizen science, and engagement with diverse knowledge systems.

Both presentations reinforced a key theme: monitoring is not just about tracking compliance, it is about understanding change.

Join Us in Building the Next Chapter

The strength of the Irish Monitor lies in its transparency, adaptability, and community orientation. As we move forward, we invite all institutions, funders, and repository managers to stay involved.

Whether through feedback, collaboration, or peer exchange, your contributions will shape the Monitor's direction and help ensure that Open Access in Ireland is measurable, meaningful, and impactful.

In case you missed the previous sessions, here are all the recaps:

4th episode recap

Title: Turning Insight into Action: How Maynooth is Using the Open Access Monitor to Drive Progress

Link: https://www.openaire.eu/turning-insight-into-action-how-maynooth-is-using-the-open-access-monitor-to-drive-progress 

3rd episode recap

Title: Unlocking the Power of Repositories: Lessons from Ireland's Open Access Journey

Link: https://www.openaire.eu/unlocking-the-power-of-repositories-lessons-from-ireland-s-open-access-journey 

2nd episode recap

Title: Data Quality & More: Highlights from the Second Open Insights Session

Link: https://www.openaire.eu/i-monitor-data-quality-more-highlights-from-the-second-open-insights-session?highlight=WyJvcGVuIiwiaW5zaWdodHMiLCJpcmlzaCJd 

1st episode recap

Title: A Year in Review: Insights and Progress from the First Open Insights Session

Link: https://www.openaire.eu/a-year-in-review-insights-and-progress-from-the-first-open-insights-session?highlight=WyJpcmlzaCJd