Recently, Eloy Rodrigues, Director of Documentation Services & Libraries at the University of Minho and prominent member of the OpenAIRE Executive Board, gave a very interesting presentation on the future of European repositories at the British Library, as part of the “Open and Engaged 2024” event. The initiative, organised by OpenAire, SPARC Europe, Liber, and COAR, and launched at the end of 2022, is aimed at developing a strategy to strengthen the European repository network. 

The event, titled “Empowering Communities to Thrive in Open Scholarship” centered around the question of how open access/ science communities can leverage their power to elevate research of all kinds for the public good. In his address, mr Rodrigues spoke about the results of a survey that started last year and continued into this year, on the topic of challenges and issues that European repositories are facing right now and how they can be addressed to ensure the continued prosperity of the repository system. 

While the survey unearthed a lot of valuable insights, from almost 400 participating organizations/ institutions from all over Europe, 2 significant conclusions and 3 major takeaways were identified: first, the actual “size” of the European repository system became more identifiable, along with the fact that the majority of those institutions, due to their relationship with Universities, are relatively sustainable; however, despite this fact, some challenges also became apparent from the survey data: issues with software and platforms (inability to keep up to date) as well as problems with regards to applying consistent, good practices in terms of metadata preservation and user statistics were among the most prominent answers, along with a distinct lack of visibility of repositories in the scholarly ecosystem.

As such, the partners identified three areas of interest that will need to be developed further as part of the “action plan” for the future of repositories:

• Increased advocacy, by highlighting the value proposition of repositories as critical to scholarly communication, research and open science

• Propagation of best practices for repositories across the continent 

• Supporting the creation and organisation of national networks of repositories

Repositories: The Cornerstone of Open Science

Part of the presentation revolved around the roadmap to strengthen the role of repositories as a cornerstone of Open Science; with a focus on collaboration, equity, and innovation, the initiative emphasizes the critical value repositories bring to the global research ecosystem. This first line of action will culminate in a comprehensive consultation with the community early next year and is built around three central messages:

1. Repositories as Foundational Infrastructure: Repositories are vital for equitable access to diverse research outputs, including data, software, workflows, and publications. Their openly available metadata enables new approaches to monitoring and assessing research.

2. Repositories as Trusted Infrastructure: Anchored by strong institutional and community support, repositories are sustainable and trusted platforms for preserving and sharing research.

3. Repositories as Platforms for Innovation: By providing openly accessible data, repositories enable new models such as "publish-review-correct" and foster innovative practices within the Open Science ecosystem.

Promoting Best Practices and Building a Network

Remaining committed to advancing our collective vision for European repositories, our efforts include exploring alternative funding opportunities to:

• Develop best practices and professionalize repository management.

• Enhance interoperability and trusted status through potential certification or new frameworks.

• Strengthen national networks and repository action plans.

A Global Vision for Knowledge Sharing

Highlighting repositories’ ability to interconnect, distribute, and network knowledge, OpenAIRE’s vision centers on creating a Global Knowledge Commons. This ambitious ecosystem aims to link diverse research contributions and foster collaboration across disciplines.

“Repositories are innovative, sustainable, and community-governed,”-El. Rodriguez emphasized, reiterating their essential role in advancing Open Science and building a more equitable and innovative research future.