Taking down barriers to open research in Europe
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is a trustworthy digital platform that provides scientists with continuous access to the entire research data cycle at the European level. Here they can access and share data, and collaborate on research. While the EOSC framework offers great potential to advance European research, the overall open science landscape suffers from fragmentation in terms of services, policies and open science practices. The NI4OS-Europe project established National Open Science Cloud Initiatives (NOSCIs) in 15 countries to promote greater cohesion. “One of the most critical aspects of the NI4OS-Europe project was the removal of barriers related to the delivery of cross-border and cross-sectoral interoperable services, tools and policies, especially within the EOSC framework,” explains Ognjen Prnjat, NI4OS-Europe project coordinator and director of European Infrastructures and Projects at National Infrastructures for Research and Technology (GRNET) in Greece. By recognising regional disparities in digital infrastructure and open science practices, the project played a crucial role in bridging the digital divide in southeast Europe. “NI4OS-Europe, as a continuation of two decades of collaboration in south-east Europe, aimed to empower regional scientists and contribute to development of the area by improving access to research resources and adoption of open science practices in this specific region,” says Prnjat.
Building on existing EOSC practices
The NI4OS-Europe project built on a number of complementary initiatives over the last two decades, pooling existing electronic infrastructures, thematic services, open data and publications repositories, to reduce fragmentation of these services. The project provided training and capacity building, offered policy guidance, promoted technical integration with the EOSC and supported findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability (FAIR) data principles. The NI4OS-Europe team developed specific recommendations on EOSC usage, and curated a series of legal, technical and procedural tools to support open data production and sharing. NI4OS-Europe ran a large number of training events, on national and regional levels, along with a range of dissemination activities.
National Open Science Cloud Initiatives
The NOSCIs are initiatives formed by a coalition of prominent national organisations, who all have an interest in the EOSC. They ensure an alignment of technical and policy priorities on national levels, bringing together stakeholders and spreading awareness of EOSC developments. The NOSCIs also link to other national innovation-supporting initiatives in each country. “To achieve this goal, we launched stakeholder analysis and mapping, which provided an insight into local capacities and needs and produced a set of guidelines to complement the establishment and operation of NOSCIs,” adds Prnjat. The NI4OS-Europe project facilitated collaboration and cooperation among researchers from different countries through the promotion of best practices and resource sharing. The project assisted with the onboarding of a range of open services into the EOSC. These facilitate knowledge sharing across borders and aim to bring research capacities in south-east Europe in line with the rest of the continent. “By connecting national initiatives and e-infrastructures, NI4OS-Europe enables researchers to access a broader range of services and collaborate more effectively, thereby advancing the goals of open science and research excellence in Europe and beyond,” says Prnjat.
Keywords
NI4OS-Europe, open, science, collaboration, guidelines, cloud, initiatives