Open Science Policies

A growing number of governments, funding agencies, universities, and other research organizations have been defining policies on Open Access, Data Management and Open Data, and Open Science.

The generality of the more than 1000 Open Access policies and mandates registered requires the deposit and open access of publications in repositories. There is also a significant number of them that offers funding for, or somehow considers the payment of publication fees in journals as eligible expenses. This is the case for the policies of the European Commission and its Open Access Requirement of the European Commission 2021-2027 as well as the Policy of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The Open Archive Policy for Scientific Production at the University of Minho, for now, only requires the deposit of publications in RepositóriUM.

Funding agencies and research institutions have also been adopting policies on the management and share of research data. These policies generally include requirements related to data management, namely through the development of data management plans (DMPs), and define data sharing as the default option, with certain exceptions allowed. Within the framework of the policy and Open Access Requirement of the European Commission 2021-2027, this principle regarding research data has been formulated as "As open as possible, as closed as necessary".

Finally, a still limited number of universities have been defining strategies and policies for Open Science, combining, in addition to the two previously mentioned, other components and dimensions such as Citizen Science, Open Education, and Responsible Research and Innovation.

The University of Minho promotes the development of an Open Science strategy/policy, with broad participation from the academic community.

Several entities and organizations have produced information and reference documents on Open Science policies:

European Commission: