Strengthening ERA through evidence - new Policy Brief on early lessons from monitoring Open Science across europe
How can we know if Open Science is truly working across Europe? That’s the question at the heart of the latest EOSC Track Policy Brief, which presents early lessons learned from monitoring national contributions to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and Open Science more broadly.
Open Science Monitoring as a strategic pillar of the European Research Area
In an era of growing demands for transparency, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing, Open Science is more than a policy trend, it’s a foundation for a competitive, inclusive and effective European Research Area (ERA). The ERA Policy Agenda 2022–2024 firmly positioned Open Science and the EOSC as core components of a well-functioning internal market for open knowledge. The first policy action under this agenda focused on enabling open sharing and reuse of research outputs, including through the development of EOSC. Crucially, it called for the deployment of a monitoring mechanism to benchmark policies, investments, and capacities in Open Science across Member States and Associated Countries.
In 2022, the EOSC-Steering Board expert group published an Opinion Paper on Monitoring Open Science, outlining a coordinated and actionable vision to accelerate the implementation of Open Science policies at the European, national, and institutional levels. The paper framed monitoring not merely as an accountability mechanism, but as a lever to support and scale the deployment of Open Science practices. This is closely aligned with the broader ambition of EOSC: to provide European researchers, innovators, companies, and citizens with a federated and open environment to share and reuse scientific outputs.
To implement its vision for a joint and coordinated monitoring capacity, the EOSC Steering Board has established two key instruments: the Survey on National Contributions to EOSC and Open Science and the EOSC Open Science Observatory. Together, these tools provide the evidence base, infrastructure, and visualisation capabilities needed to monitor national progress and policy alignment with EOSC and Open Science goals.
What’s in the Policy Brief?
The policy brief, titled “Monitoring Open Science across ERA: Early Lessons from the EOSC Open Science Observatory”, offers a reflection on the progress made so far in building a joint monitoring capacity for Open Science. It brings together lessons from the annual Survey on National Contributions to EOSC and Open Science, insights from the updated Monitoring Framework, and practical developments around the EOSC Open Science Observatory.
The experience from this process highlights several important lessons:
- Shared definitions are essential: Variations in how countries interpret and report key concepts (such as use cases, RPOs/RFOs) underscore the need for continued work toward a common understanding to ensure consistency and comparability.
- Targeted support improves participation and data quality: Tools such as the EOSC Survey Café, pre-filled responses, and expert guidance have proven effective in engaging stakeholders and streamlining the data collection process.
- Stakeholder engagement strengthens relevance: Involving national actors in the revision of the monitoring framework and inviting users to co-create the EOSC Open Science Observatory has enhanced its practical alignment with national contexts and increased user engagement.
- Visualisation tools unlock value: The EOSC Open Science Observatory adds significant value by translating complex data into accessible, policy-relevant insights and enabling data export for local use.
- Monitoring frameworks must remain adaptable: As indicators evolve and policy contexts shift, the original targets set in the 2022 Opinion Paper may require recalibration to ensure continued relevance and utility.
As Europe transitions to a more structured and impact-oriented monitoring approach under the ERA 2025–2027 Policy Agenda, it may be timely to revisit and refine the original targets set in 2022. Such reflection, informed by updated methodologies and practical experience, will help ensure that the EOSC-SB’s monitoring efforts remain both credible and actionable, ultimately supporting the coordinated advancement of Open Science across the European Research Area.
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