Open Research Information

Open Research Information is freely accessible reusable metadata on research activities and outputs, such as descriptions of projects, organizations, researchers, publications, data, software or events.

From Research Information to Open Research Information

Vast amounts of information are being produced and used in the research enterprise, for example in publishing or research management processes. This research information, such as for example bibliographic metadata or information on organizations and funding, plays a crucial role in the assessment of researchers and institutions, the distribution of resources in academia, and also for discoverability of scientific outputs. However, a large share of research information is not freely accessible, but instead locked behind paywalls in proprietary infrastructures and services of commercial corporations or in other inaccessible data silos. In contrast, open research information is freely accessible and can be used and reused free of charge.

Closed research information versus open research information (Source: Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, licensed under CC BY 4.0 International)

Open Research Information in Research Assessment

Currently, there is a disconnect between the push for open science and the closed systems used to evaluate it: The scientific community relies heavily on closed infrastructures and non-transparent evidence for research assessment. Open science is often monitored and incentivized with closed data, reproducing the biases and intransparancies of that data. But as research information is so indispensable and crucial for strategic decisions, the allocation of resources, research evaluation and recruitment – in short, essential for fair and transparent research assessment –, the openness of such information is of decisive relevance. Open research information is therefore another important building block of open science and in the reform of research assessment as well as for academic sovereignty.

Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information

The Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, published in April 2024, aims to make open research information the norm. By signing the declaration, institutions commit to taking a leading role in this endeavor and, to this end, commit to

making openness of research information the default,
working with services and systems that support and enable open research information,
supporting the sustainability of infrastructures for open research information, and
working together to realize the transition from closed to open research information

To advance responsible research assessment and open science and to promote unbiased high-quality decision making, openness of research information must be the new norm.

Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information

Numerous research institutions and research funding organizations have signed the Barcelona Declaration. It is also supported by numerous organizations that provide data, services, and infrastructure. A roadmap has been formulated setting out specific actions that are being addressed and implemented by signatory, supporting, and other institutions and organizations—a coalition for open research information—in various working groups. The Helmholtz Open Science Office is involved in several of these working groups.

The goals of the Barcelona Declaration are consistent with the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) as well as numerous other initiatives for open science and open research infrastructures.

Network on the Barcelona Declaration in the German-speaking region

In addition to the activities of the Barcelona Declaration, national networks for exchange at the local level have been established. For the German-speaking region (DACH – Germany, Austria, Switzerland), such a (tri-)national network has been established, and is currently coordinated by the Helmholtz Open Science Office.

The network and its meetings are open to interested institutions and organizations from German-speaking countries. Having signed the Barcelona Declaration is explicitly not a prerequisite. Interested parties are asked to subscribe to the network's mailing list and, in case of questions, can contact us (see below).