Responsible Research
Responsible science is conducted with integrity, safety and social impact in mind. The basis for this is compliance with good scientific practice.
At the same time, effective contributions to social and economic impact are central objectives of publicly funded research. All of this takes place in the context of a growing awareness of international research security issues.
The Helmholtz Open Science Office addresses the following topics under this umbrella term:
Research integrity and Reproducibility
Reproducibility is a central component of the discussion on open science. Reproducibility promotes scientific integrity and strengthens society's trust in scientific results. On a regular basis, the Helmholtz Open Science Office organizes events on the topic with partners such as the Helmholtz Information & Data Science Academy (HIDA) to promote exchange within Helmholtz:
- March 25, 2025: 4th Helmholtz Reproducibility Workshop (Berlin & Online)
- November 16, 2023: 3rd Helmholtz Reproducibility Workshop
- February 14, 2023: 2nd Reproducibility workshop “Love your data? Make it reproducible! A workshop on reproducibility in data science”
- June 06, 2022: 1st Reproducibility workshop “Enabling reproducibility in data science - learn why it matters and how you can do it”
The Helmholtz Open Science Office is a founding member of the German Reproducibility Network (GRN), which was founded in 2021 by eight open science stakeholders. The interdisciplinary consortium is dedicated to promoting reproducible and robust research at a national level.
Closely related to the issue of reproducibility are the handling of research data and research software, but also the selection of suitable scientific methods. Here, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will generate additional opportunities and challenges in the future.
In October 2024, the workshop “Research Ethics in the Age of AI: Embracing Openness as a Path Forward” took place, which was organized in cooperation between the Helmholtz Open Science Office and HIDA. The workshop brought together experts from various disciplines to discuss the ethical challenges and opportunities of generative AI in research.
Digital sovereignty and research security
Against the backdrop of the constantly changing geopolitical situation, topics such as digital sovereignty and research security are becoming increasingly important. The Helmholtz Open Science Office is involved in the Alliance focus area “Digitality in Science” and works closely with the platforms of the Helmholtz Data and Information Science (HIDS) Framework.
In December 2024, the OS Office published a commentary on the tension between open science and research security. It makes it clear that the open exchange of knowledge remains central to scientific progress — even with increasing security requirements.
As part of the Helmholtz Dialogue with the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), three working groups were set up, one of which focused on “Open Science in Collaborative Research”. Two OS Office employees took part in this working group and visited the Academy as part of a Helmholtz delegation in July 2024.
Transfer at Helmholtz
Open science, technology transfer and knowledge transfer are central fields of action at Helmholtz (see Helmholtz Transfer Strategy) that complement each other well in many respects.Particularly important overlaps can be identified against the backdrop of the digital transformation: Open science as a standard for scientific work creates foundations for successful transfer.
The Helmholtz Open Science Office supports this exchange and has organized a forum with experts from Helmholtz in 2022.
Citizen Science
The term citizen science is used to describe all forms of interaction between society and academia in which people actively participate in research projects independently of their professional activities. This participation can be of short duration, e.g., through one-time sharing of information about an observation, but can also lead to long-term engagement.
Citizen science is recognized in Germany by the research community and funding agencies as an important field of action that taps the competencies of citizen scientists for research projects and links academia more closely with society. In this sense, the OECD also recommends that its member states promote citizen science.
Helmholtz scientists played a leading role in drafting the White Paper Citizen Science Strategy 2030 for Germany and are active in a large number of citizen science projects.
Sustainability at Helmholtz
Open Science and sustainability are closely linked fields of work at the Helmholtz Association: The LeNa guidelines are the basis for Helmholtz's understanding of sustainability. The stated field of action Research offers clear references to the contributions that open science makes to scientific integrity. The Helmholtz Open Science Policy refers to the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, which formulates the goal of creating a transparent, accessible, and sustainable knowledge landscape. In this, scientific knowledge and resources can be freely shared and used to address the solution of global challenges.
The cooperation with the Sustainability Forum Working Group provides an excellent basis for this.