To celebrate the launch of Open Research Europe, Kostas Glinos, Head of Unit ‘Open Science’, European Commission, tells us why open science is a policy priority for the European Commission, its motivations behind establishing Open Research Europe and what the benefits are to researchers, journalists and citizens alike.
I am delighted to announce that the European Commission has officially launched its open access publishing venue, Open Research Europe (ORE). The first articles have now been published.
Leading by example
So why you may ask, has the Commission chosen to establish its own scholarly publishing platform when there are many options available to researchers already? In short, to demonstrate what it believes is a superior publishing model that increases quality and value-added by the research. Let me explain.
That’s where ORE comes in; ORE champions open science principles by immediately publishing articles, followed by transparent and open peer review with the inclusion of all supporting data and materials. The names of the reviewers are open, as well as their reviews, which are also citable. Article-level metrics continuously track the scientific and social impact of publications.
Ultimately, ORE gives everyone, researchers, journalists and citizens alike, free-of-charge access to the latest scientific advances. As such, ORE implements our policy on open science and shows that the Commission does indeed ‘walk the talk’. It helps the open circulation of knowledge, which is a priority in the European Research Area, and helps to mainstream open access publishing as the principal way of publishing in the future.
As you may already be aware, open science is a policy priority for the European Commission and is becoming the standard method of working under its research and innovation funding programmes. This is because opening up your research unequivocally improves its quality, efficiency and impact. The Commission therefore requires beneficiaries of all research and innovation funding to make their publications available in open access and make their data as open as possible – and as closed as necessary.
Benefitting researchers
So why should researchers funded by Horizon 2020 (and soon Horizon Europe) publish on ORE? First and foremost because ORE is a scientifically robust open access publishing venue. By this we mean that the editorial policies and guidelines are of the highest scientific standards. Each article undergoes rigorous open peer-review thus contributing to transparency in research and scientific debate. The underlying data are made open, contributing to the reproducibility of research. ORE is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board, which provides guidance on ORE’s publishing policies, strategic direction and sustainability, whilst also advising on challenging issues that may arise from the Horizon communities that ORE serves.
Second, by publishing on ORE, researchers ensure immediate open access to their research and ensure that they fully comply with the Commission’s open access policy. Third, researchers may choose to publish in ORE because it is free of charge and administrative reporting, since the cost of publication is covered by the Commission. Finally, beneficiaries can publish in ORE after the end of their projects, which is quite important because project funding will have otherwise ceased at that time, including funding for publications.
A publishing platform for Europe?
Since announcing ORE, there has been interest internally and externally about its possible future direction. The original intention of the platform was to support the Horizon programmes, however there are other funding programmes within the Commission that have expressed interest in using the platform too. We have also had some conversations around how ORE could be extended to allow other funders in other EU Member States use the platform. During the next few years, we will be exploring the sustainability of the platform and how it can support open science within the Commission and potentially Europe as a whole.
To learn more about ORE and how it provides Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe beneficiaries with a quality venue to publish their research, then please visit https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/ and follow ORE on Twitter for the latest updates.
View the European Commission’s press release which announces this platform launch: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_1262
