Open Science is changing the way research is produced, accessed and utilised, and new and diversified ways of scientific exchange and cooperation are emerging. This movement is paving the way to enhanced cross-fertilisation of interdisciplinary research activities, which is critical to tackle complex research issues and societal challenges.
EUA is on the forefront of supporting this movement and demonstrating how Open Science holds great promise in strengthening the competitiveness of the overall European science and research system. It has the potential to speed up knowledge transfer among scientists and scientific disciplines, to foster the growth of new types of scientific cooperation and to stimulate collaborative research. However, the great potential of Open Science for scientific development and knowledge transfer comes with big challenges, such as legal constraints, confidentiality issues, intellectual property rights, scientific recognition systems and quality assurance of non-traditional research outputs.
EUA actively supports universities in the transition to Open Science. For more than a decade, the Association has promoted a series of initiatives related to the implementation of institutional policies on Open Access to research publications. EUA also has an Expert Group on Science 2.0/Open Science that closely follows developments in this area. It addresses a broad range of issues including Open Access to research publications and data, text and data mining and big data.
The Association’s focus on Open Science is also seen in its extensive efforts in providing input to the EU’s research and innovation programmes.
The publication of research outcomes in digital formats is providing scientists and other stakeholders in research and innovation with enhanced opportunities to increase the visibility of, and widen access to, scientific articles and research data. This facilitates developments towards Open Access, a phenomenon that has received increased attention from the academic community, publishers, research funders, governments and even the general public over the past years.
EUA has become a leading voice in the debate on Open Access as it has been monitoring developments in the field from an institutional perspective for more than a decade. Through dedicated activities, EUA has shaped the debate and worked with its many university members to accelerate the transition towards a more open, transparent and collaborative research system. EUA’s efforts are in line with those of the European Union, namely the EU policies for Open Access to research publications and data in the current and future Framework Programmes, the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) and the creation of the European Open Science Cloud.
Large contract negotiations between universities and scientific publishers, the so-called “Big Deals”, are becoming increasingly important for universities. This is due to the changes brought by Open Access and Open Science and the need for greater transparency, especially in what concerns the use of public funds. The EUA High-Level Group on Big Deals, comprising university leaders and scientific publishing specialists, monitors the evolution of negotiation mechanisms between universities and publishers and how these affect the content and financial conditions given to academic institutions.
EUA conducts a mapping of major scientific publishing contracts in Europe from the perspective of universities. This original initiate has revealed, for the first time on a European scale, the magnitude of spending and the stark differences across countries in big deal contracts with scientific publishers.
EUA provides a platform for dialogue about Big Deal negotiations and for sharing good practices and information about the development of the Big Deal landscape in Europe to increase the efficiency and transparency of scientific publishing.
EUA is part of a broad alliance of more than 100 organisations that has voiced concerns over recent proposals for a Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market. The alliance seeks a balanced compromise that fosters openness in education, research, innovation and competitiveness.
A Europe at the forefront of a prosperous and growing digital society is the vision set out by the European Commission in its strategy for a Digital Single Market. To get there, EUA recommends three broad mandatory exceptions for research based on text and data mining; for cross-border off-site education; and for the preservation of cultural heritage. These measures will enable universities, their libraries, researchers and educators to generate new insights based on analysing large datasets; to provide innovative learning and teaching opportunities; and, to preserve cultural heritage objects in the Digital Era.
EUA Strategic Plan
The need for strong universities has never been greater in addressing societal challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, resource scarcity, ageing populations, migration and managing artificial intelligence are among the many examples of areas where universities have a major impact.
EUA and Science Europe have issued a joint statement on the need for research funders and research performing organisations as well as universities to combine their efforts to develop and implement more accurate, transparent and responsible approaches to scholarly research assessment.
This report and the accompanying online repository bring together and analyse case studies in...
read moreKarel Luyben, Rector Magnificus Emeritus of Delft University of Technology, will be the first president of the European Open Science Cloud Association. He was elected during the Association’s first General Assembly on 17 December. The General Assembly also confirmed EUA’s status as a non-voting...
view moreThe FAIRsFAIR project - Fostering Fair Data Practices in Europe – has prepared a series of recommendations for policy enhancement to support the realisation of a FAIR ecosystem and invite policy makers at all levels to send their expressions of interest to assess their current policies against...
view moreThe process to renew the European Research Area (ERA) is gathering pace and is set to continue in...
read moreThe EOSC Working Group on Skills & Training, co-chaired by EUA, has launched a 20-minute questionnaire to support a study for EOSC within national strategies for digital skills. The questionnaire is open until 23 November, and EUA members are kindly invited to participate. The objective of...
view moreEUA has joined the UNESCO Global Open Science Partnership. The purpose of this partnership is to work towards a global consensus on the transition to Open Science and the adoption of a UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science in 2021. EUA provides input from a European perspective during global...
view moreThe FAIRsFAIR project - Fostering Fair Data Practices in Europe – is developing resources and building communities to support the uptake of FAIR research data management policy and practice within higher education curricula. To achieve these objectives, the project conducted a survey receiving...
view moreOn 29 July, representatives of four founding members met in Brussels and formalised the launch of the EOSC Association as a Belgian international non-profit association. The founding organisations are the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER),...
view moreScience Europe, an association representing public research performing and research funding organisations in Europe, has published a “Position Statement and Recommendations on Research Assessment Processes”. The recommendations further add momentum to the discussion on academic career...
view morecOAlition S has released a Rights Retention Strategy that details under which conditions authors supported by Plan S funders are expected to share articles via self archiving in repositories, one of the three routes of Plan S. The strategy specifies the exact conditions for this route. As...
view moreThis report is the result of the study on Read & Publish agreements commissioned by EUA on...
read moreFAIRsFAIR - Fostering Fair Data Practices in Europe – calls for experts from all scientific communities around Europe to join their European Group of FAIR Champions (EGFC), a highly visible group of experts and inspired influencers engaged on making FAIR data in Europe a reality. The deadline for...
view moreThe European Commission’s Industrial Strategy for Europe and the European Digital Strategy...
read moreThe Open Science Policy Platform (OSPP) published its final report “Progress on Open Science: Towards a Shared Research Knowledge System” on Thursday, 28 May. As member of this high-level advisory group to the European Commission, EUA contributed the perspective of European...
view morecOAlition S, an international consortium of research funders, published its guidance on implementing price transparency when Open Access publication fees are applied. More specifically, as of 1 July 2022, only publishers who provide data in line with one of the following frameworks will be...
view moreAs part of LIBER’s Annual Conference 2020, FAIRsFAIR is organising a set of stakeholders’ workshops on 23 June with EUA, University of Minho, University of Göttingen and University Amsterdam, all organisations which develop and offer Open Science and FAIR data education and trainings. The...
view moreIn a reaction to the ongoing coronavirus crisis and the halt of on-campus operations in Europe and beyond, digital access to scientific research and electronic resources is more important than ever. Several national rectors’ conferences and national consortia, including in France, Spain,...
view moreEUA has provided input to a consultation on “Public Access to Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications, Data and Code Resulting From Federally Funded Research” by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). This request for information was launched by OSTP as part of its efforts to...
view moreThe outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China (Covid-19) represents a significant and urgent threat to global health. EUA signed a statement by Wellcome to call on researchers, journals and funders to ensure that research findings and data relevant to this outbreak are shared rapidly and openly...
view moreThe Research Data Rights Summit took place in Paris on 27 January. Organised by Sorbonne University, the University of Amsterdam and University College London, all EUA members, the event brought together nine networks of research-intensive universities from around the world. Held on the...
view moreUNESCO’s Global Open Science Partnership is well-timed in promoting a much-needed global dialogue...
read moreThe Covid-19 crisis led to major push towards Open Access, which is now well on its way to...
read moreEUA President Michael Murphy assesses the challenges and opportunities brought by the coronavirus...
read moreThe Swedish Bibsam Consortium is taking a leading role in the transition to Open Access and aims...
read moreWhile Europe discusses its data strategy, the digital transformation must be on the radar of...
read moreOpen Access publishing needs new business models for universities and disciplines that want to...
read moreScholarly publishing is at a crossroads between commercial vendors and community-driven services....
read moreThe Open University of Catalonia is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research...
read moreThe transition to Open Science and Open Access is gaining momentum in Europe, making it a shared...
read moreSince the beginning of time scientific research has been based on exchanges between peers:...
read moreThe European University Association (EUA) and its Expert Group on ‘Science 2.0/Open Science’ are...
read moreTuesday, 8 December, 14.00-15.00 CET As a main partner in the FAIRsFAIR project, EUA organised this webinar to share and discuss the FAIRsFAIR policy and...
Read moreFriday, 4 September 2020, 10:00-11:30 CEST EUA organised a webinar on 4 September to present the progress of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and to...
Read moreEUA worked together with the Portuguese National Conference of Rectors (CRUP) and Conference of the Rectors of the Spanish Universities (CRUE) in the delivery...
Read moreFollowing measures adopted across Europe to minimise health risks associated with the current coronavirus outbreak, EUA and OpenAIRE have decided with much...
Read moreEUA is organising a series of workshops raising awareness and fostering discussion on research assessment reform. The 2019 edition will focus on research...
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