On February 13, 2025, OpenAIRE hosted the third installment of the Open Insights sessions. The purpose of the webinar was to engage Irish Research Performing Organizations with institutional repositories to discuss the role of the repositories in supporting the Monitor’s main objective of reaching 100% Open Access in Ireland. Leonidas Pispiringas (Data Scientist, Scholarly Communication Technical Expert from OpenAIRE) focused on best practices and practical guidance on repository data integration into the OpenAIRE Graph (the data source of the Irish Monitor) focusing on interoperability. We were joined by Cillian Joy, University of Galway of the Open Repositories Initiative of Ireland with whom we discussed collaborative efforts to enhance interoperability and metadata quality in alignment with the OpenAIRE Interoperability Guidelines.

Key Themes Discussed

Repositories' Role in National Open Access Goals

The session began with an overview of how repositories contribute to the Monitor' objectives. Emphasis was placed on best practices for data integration to ensure that repositories align with the OpenAIRE Interoperability Guidelines that support international metadata standards and controlled vocabularies. Repositories are at the core of Open Access infrastructure, enabling free, long-term access to research outputs. However, their true impact depends on the quality of metadata and their alignment with international interoperability standards, such as the OpenAIRE Interoperability Guidelines. By complying with OpenAIRE’s Interoperability Guidelines repositories provide the metadata of their research outputs to the OpenAIRE Graph thus:

• Ensuring metadata consistency → Making it easier for aggregators and funders to track research outputs.
• Improving discoverability → Well-structured metadata ensures research is visible in OpenAIRE, EOSC, and global scholarly networks.
• Enabling better linking of research objects → Connecting publications, datasets, software, funding, and projects.
• Enhancing repository integration → Making research outputs part of a larger interoperable research ecosystem.

To fully leverage the Monitor and maximize its impact, repositories should populate as much metadata as possible including Persistent Identifiers, ORCID IDs, funding information, transparent Open Access information by ensuring access rights and Open Access license information are properly tagged.To fully leverage the Monitor and maximize its impact, repositories should populate as much metadata as possible including Persistent Identifiers, ORCID IDs, funding information, transparent Open Access information by ensuring access rights and Open Access license information are properly tagged.

Repositories play a key role in Open Science, but without standardised, complete metadata, their full potential cannot be utilised. By complying with the OpenAIRE Interoperability Guidelines and ensuring high-quality metadata, they contribute to a robust Open Access ecosystem, benefiting researchers, funders, institutions fostering a more interconnected and interoperable scholarly landscape in Ireland.

Open Repositories Initiative & NORF’s Open Research Strategy

Updates were provided on the newly formed Open Repositories Initiative (ORI), highlighting recent developments and future plans. The National Open Research Forum (NORF) is a key driver behind Ireland’s open repositories alignment, bringing together universities, funders, and policymakers to work toward 100% Open Access by 2030. Enhancing metadata standards was not only a technical necessity but also a strategic policy effort to align with Ireland’s broader Open Research landscape under the Open Repositories Initiative and NORF’s Open Research Strategy.

Guidance on populating Metadata for OpenAIRE Interoperability Guidelines v.4 Compatibility

A key focus of the session was ensuring metadata compatibility with the latest version of the OpenAIRE Interoperability Guidelines, v.4.0. Presenters shared detailed guidance on how repositories can adopt these standards to improve metadata quality, making research outputs more discoverable and interoperable within the OpenAIRE infrastructure. The session also showcased pilot repository work, where four Irish repositories tested OpenAIRE v.4 compliance, focusing on repository upgrades, metadata workflow improvements, and strategic CRIS integration. 

Role of ORI & Community-Driven Solutions

Cillian Joy introduced ORI, a membership-based organization supporting Open Research practices across Irish repositories. ORI focuses on networking, training, and policy advocacy, helping repositories adopt OpenAIRE’s metadata guidance while ensuring compliance. Additionally, the session highlighted ongoing pilot repositories, including Marine Institute, Health Service Executive, Atlantic Technological University & University of Galway. The latter upgraded their compatibility with the OpenAIRE Interoperability Guidelines for Literature, institutional, and thematic Repositories v.4.0, by implementing structured metadata workflows and aligning their metadata fields.

Looking Ahead

The session concluded with an interactive Q&A, allowing participants to address specific challenges and share experiences related to repository integration and Open Access practices.

This Open Insights session marked a collaborative effort to strengthen the integration of Irish repositories with the Monitor, ensuring their alignment with OpenAIRE’s evolving interoperability frameworks. Further engagement will continue in future sessions, focusing on data quality, usability, and sustained repository development. Engaging with the Monitor dashboards and providing feedback on data quality plays a key role in continuously improving the platform’s information representation. Active participation in engagement and training events is equally important, helping stakeholders stay informed about best practices and the latest updates.