NRENs’ activities in support of Open Science

Open science is a growing priority worldwide. Big societal challenges, as climate change and global pandemics are demonstrating the urgency of a shift towards cross-border and cross-disciplinary scientific collaboration and are boosting the adoption of open science practices.

Now more than ever the vision is gaining momentum, as UNESCO’s General Conference recently agreed on a first universal definition of Open Science and on international standards and recommendations. In short, Open Science is (finally) set to become the new normal.

How are NRENs contributing?

Research and Education Networks around the globe have an essential and increasingly important role in supporting Open Science. NRENs facilitate cooperation, enable research communities to organize, manage and share research data with their peers and with the wider scientific community. They provide services to store data or to transfer files. They also engage in procurement frameworks to help institutions take up commercial services, like e-Lab notebooks, CRIS systems or repositories.

Additionally, NRENs offer training and promote best practices within the community, helping researchers better understand FAIR principles and engage in Open Science activities.

To showcase examples of NRENs’ efforts in the field of Open Science, GÉANT collected a series of case studies within the community and made them available on the GÉANT website.

Read more about the current success stories in the series HERE.