National Open Access Desk

EOSC in Austria

EOSC national representatives

EOSC Austrian Governance Board Country Delegate is Stefan Hanslik from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. 

Stefan Hanslik gives answers to these questions and explains his role in the Governance Board in the following three video interviews: 

• What you need to know
• The Backbone of EOSC
• EOSC a Sustainable Future

The videos were produced within the Austrian role as a partner in the H2020 project EOSCSecretariat. They are licensed with an open CC-license, so we encourage further reuse and dissemination.

Austrian Preparation for EOSC Contribution:

In the call for proposals "Digital and social transformation in higher education", some submissions also revolved around the topic of Open Science and Open Access. One notable example is "Austrian Transition to Open Access 2" (AT2OA²) the continuation of AT2OA, which aims to further promote the free accessibility of scientific publications. This also applies to the projects "RIS Synergy", "Austrian DataLab Austria" and "FAIR Data", which are combined in the Research Data cluster and are being implemented (under the lead of Vienna University of Technology and Graz University of Technology). 

They are among those projects that will further advance the European Open Science Cloud. EOSC is a data infrastructure referred to as the "Internet of scientific data and data services" or European Open Science Cloud, i.e. a Europe-wide user-friendly environment of digital research data consisting of existing e-infrastructures across national and disciplinary borders. It aims to provide European researchers with access to first-class computing, storage and analysis capacities located in Europe. This will also facilitate the open exchange of data, e.g. as part of the "Open Research Data Pilot". To achieve this goal uniform international standards are needed.

In 2018, during the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and through the Vienna Declaration on the European Open Science Cloud, the EOSC Governance was launched at the University of Vienna.

EU Funded Projects

EOSC Pillar in Austria - AUSSDA / Vienna University Library

EOSC-Pillar is one of several Horizon 2020 projects aimed at building the Open Science and FAIR data-based European Open Science Cloud (EOSC): the focus is on data management, data services and data policy in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Italy.

EOSC will support the infrastructures and services to increase the FAIRness of data across national and disciplinary boundaries. It involves communities, stakeholders, infrastructures and researchers to actively shape these processes. Joint developments on an organizational, technical or legal level make EOSC-Pillar a catalyst for the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

EOSC Secretariat - TU Wien

Austrian EOSC Secretariat team: Andreas Rauber, Paolo Budroni (Austrian National E-IRG Delegate), Barbara Sanchez, Juliana Giroletti, Katharina Flicker, Bernd Saurugger  

The National Research Environment

Major research funding bodies

Austrian Science Fund FWF

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is Austria's central funding organization for basic research. The purpose of the FWF is to support the ongoing development of Austrian science and basic research at a high international level. Therefore, the FWF makes a significant contribution to cultural development, and to the advancement of our knowledge-based society.

Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) is the national funding institution for applied industrial research in Austria. The FFG offers a comprehensive range of services for Austrian enterprises, research institutions and researchers – from the management of public funding programmes to consulting services in all phases of technology development and innovation, from support for integration into European research programmes and networks to the promotion of Austria's interests at the European and the international level.

Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft (aws)

Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (aws) is the Austrian federal promotional bank. It assists companies in their implementation of innovative projects by granting loans, awarding subsidies and issuing guarantees at favourable interest rates, particularly in cases in which it is not possible for these companies to obtain the necessary funds in a sufficient amount from other sources of financing. In addition, it provides support in the form of specific information, advisory and other services to prospective, established and expanding companies.

Research funding Ministries

Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (bmvit)

Information about funding programs and open tenderings are available mainly in German on the ministries websites. A service called Förderkompass is provided by the bmvit which aggregates information about current different research funding programs and institutions.

Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (bmbwf)

There is a wide range of research in Austria and current research programs and projects. Furthermore an initiative called Forschungsatlas provides all links and records in social media about research in Austria in real time. Information about funding programs and open tenderings are available mainly in German on the ministries websites.

Further funding bodies

Academy of Sciences (OeAW)

The OeAW as the largest non-university research institution cultivates discourse and the cooperation between science, the public, politics and the economy and practices applied and open basic research at its 29 institutes at the highest international level.As a public institution, the OAeW advances national and international scientific cooperation, offers researchers far-reaching advancement and career-development opportunities and supports up-and-coming scientists with fellowships as well as training and advanced training. The OAW sustainably supports the development of Austria as an innovative and future-proof knowledge-based society.

The Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft

Founded in 1960, the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft (LBG) is a research institution with a thematic focus on medicine, life sciences and the humanities, social sciences and cultural sciences, and is specifically targeting new research topics in Austria. Together with academic and implementing partners, the LBG is currently running 20 Ludwig Boltzmann Institutes (LBIs) and develops and tests new forms of collaboration between science and non-scientific actors such as companies, the public sector and civil society.
Named after the famous Austrian physicist, mathematician and philosopher Ludwig Boltzmann, the LBG still takes its lead from his wide range of academic interests, by pursuing interdisciplinary approaches. Socially relevant challenges, to which research can contribute, are to be recognized at an early stage and taken up. In 2016, the LBG Career Center, which is supporting 200 pre and postdocs, has been set up. In addition, the LBG Open Innovation in Science Center (LBG OIS Center), which is revealing the potential of open innovation to science, was launched.
The LBG is financed by a mix of public and private funding, the total budget for the year 2016 amounted to 31.3 million euros. About 31 percent of the funds come from the budget of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. The Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft employs a total of approximately 550 people. Since the comprehensive reorganisation of the LBG in 2002, LBIs can only be established on the basis of calls for proposals and must operate under the scrutiny of international expert review.

Christian Doppler Research Association (CDG)

The Christian Doppler Research Association promotes the cooperation between science and business. Specifically, this takes place in specially established research units with fixed terms, in which application-orientated basic research is pursued: Christian Doppler Laboratories at universities and non-university research institutions, Josef Ressel Centres at universities of applied sciences.Under the direction of highly qualified scientists, research groups work in close contact with the commercial partners on innovative responses to business-related research issues.

Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB)

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) has a long tradition of promoting research: Through its Anniversary Fund, the OeNB supports outstanding scientific work above all in the field of economics and medicine, but also projects related to the social sciences and the humanities.In addition, the OeNB sponsors a number of grants and awards, such as the Klaus Liebscher Award or the Olga Radzyner Award, and offers a visiting research program for young scientists.

Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education & Research for Development (APPEAR)

APPEAR is a programme of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) with the aim to implement its strategy for support of higher education and research for development on an academic institutional level in the ADC’s southern priority countries and key regions and in three priority countries of the South Caucasus and Black Sea Region.The overall objective is to strengthen the institutional capacities in higher education, research and management in the addressed countries through Academic Partnerships with Austrian higher education institutions and master’s and PhD scholarships as a contribution to effective and sustainable reduction of poverty.

Commission of Development Research at the OeAD–GmbH (KEF)

The Commission for Development Research at the OeAD-GmbH (KEF) aims at bridging the gap between science and development by supporting a development-oriented approach in research and science. The main principle is the incorporation of the development policy approach in science and research.

RDA-Austria
Research Data Alliance Austria (RDA-AT) is a national RDA node dedicated to representing emerging research and data management communities throughout Austria. RDA-AT will operate as a formal participant of RDA Europe, linking Austrian data management initiatives and RDA Working and Interest Groups, providing assistance in adoption of RDA recommendations, and allowing Austrian stakeholders to benefit directly from RDA support mechanisms. These new connections will bring key Austrian issues to the global data management table, and global discussions back to Austria.

RDA Austria's primary responsibilities include:

• Facilitating national and transnational engagements, including the creation of formal Working Groups to address data-related issues critical to the Austrian research community and the public at large
• Organizing events and training to support the adoption of best practices in research data management across Austria
• Providing an incubation space for the development of shared services and common standards, including policy development, data management planning, and infrastructure interoperability requirements
• Serve as an information conduit and professional connector for international activities, including the European Open Science Cloud and the EGI Federated Cloud
• Promoting local adoption of RDA recommendations with the support of RDA seed funding
• Connecting Austrian research data stakeholders

e-Infrastructures Austria and its follow-up project e-Infrastructures Austria PLUS

Digital Humanities Austria (DHA)

AUSSDA – the Austrian Social Science Data Archive

Open Education Austria

Citizen Science in Austria

Österreich forscht
The Citizen Science Network Austria (CSNA) and its associated online platform Österreich forscht are the main portals to citizen science in Austria. The members of the CSNA have agreed to work together to further develop citizen science in Austria, to secure the quality of citizen science projects and to foster citizen science in general. Several working groups invite interested persons of all backgrounds to collaborate on diverse topics within citizen science, such as quality criteria, biodiversity databases, open science or legal aspects. All citizen science projects will be listed on Österreich forscht, after careful evaluation of the projects according to the Quality Criteria for Citizen Science Projects (https://zenodo.org/record/3648636#.XnjFP3J7lPY). Furthermore, interested persons can find general information about citizen science and read and engage in the blog section of Österreich forscht. Österreich forscht is also the main website for the annual Austrian Citizen Science Conference, which is organised since 2015.

Citizen Science - Center for Citizen Science
ZSI - Zentrum für Soziale Innovation

See also the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research: about Citizen Science

Other initiatives

• FAIR Data Austria
• Open Knowledge Österreich: OKFN Austria is the Austrian branch (Chapter) of the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN)
• Repository Manager Network (RepManNet Austria)
  RepManNet offers staff members of Austrian institutions, who are in charge of repository management, an exchange of experiences, special issues and challenges in regular meetings to prioritize key aspects of scientific digital repositories. Lectures and workshops held by experts will consistently deepen its members' knowledge about repository management. At present, around 40 institutions are members of the network.
• Open Knowledge Maps
• Know-Center Graz
• Open Data Portal Österreich
• Wikimedia Österreich
• Data Market Austria 
• Cooperation OGD Austria 
• ODI Node Vienna
• School of Data Austria

See also: OpenInnovation.gv.at & Strategy: Open Innovation Strategie für Österreich – Ziele, Maßnahmen und Methoden (in German)

Other Austrian networks for the further development of Open Science

• die Österreichische Universitätenkonferenz (uniko),
• das Forum Universitätsbibliotheken Österreichs (ubifo),
• die Österreichische Bibliothekenverbund und Service GmbH (OBVSG)
• die Kooperation E-Medien Österreich (KEMÖ)

 See also: Open Science at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (in German) 

Funders with an Open Access Policy

Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

Vienna Science and Technology Fund

Institutions with an Open Access Policy:

• Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
• Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
• Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)
• Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education & Research for Development (APPEAR)
• Commission of Development Research at the OeAD-GmbH (KEF)
• Graz University of Technology
• Institute of Science and Technology (IST)
• International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
• Mozarteum University Salzburg
• Paris Lodron University of Salzburg
• University of Applied Sciences, St. Pölten (FH St. Pölten)
• University of Graz
• University of Innsbruck
• University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw)
• University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
• University of Technology Vienna (TU Wien)
• University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
• University of Vienna
• WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business)