Get involved
If you want to be involved in the Open Science thematic group, please join here (scroll down on the Special Interest Groups webpage to see your thematic group). If you are not a member of EARMA, you must first register as a "Guest", "Institutional" or "Individual" member. Please note that you do not need an EARMA membership to set up an EARMA guest account.
Group description
Systemic changes are currently taking place in the way research systems function, and there is an increased expectation of value for money from taxpayers. Open Science calls for a shift towards a more transparent, accessible, collaborative and networked way of doing research. Note that when we talk about Open Science, we mean openness across all areas of research including social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Given the importance of Open Science including in the European Research Area (ERA Action 1), the Open Science EARMA thematic group (EARMA OS TG) aims to provide added value and reflect the specific perspectives, experiences and needs of research managers and administrators (RMAs) on Open Science. The remit of the group includes exchanging best practices, providing tools and connecting with other networks (internal and external to EARMA) relevant to Open Science.
Governance
The governance of the group is designed to be light and agile, recognising that EARMA engagement is an additional responsibility to members' primary duties. The group operates a co-chair model. Each Chair holds the post for two years, with one Chair stepping down each year, balancing retaining experience with ensuring fresh perspectives and continuous leadership development.
Current co-chairs (2024/2025): Daniel Spichtinger and Lindsay Dowling.
Activities
The group was established in 2022 with Daniel Spichtinger and Jan Andersen co-chairing. In 2023, the EARMA Open Science (OS) Working Group engaged in various activities to promote Open Science among research management and administration (RMA) professionals. The year commenced with a webinar on the interaction between Open Science and intellectual property. This was followed by a thematic meeting at the EARMA Conference 2023 in Prague, Czech Republic, where participants brainstormed future activities aligned with the European Commission’s Open Science ambitions. In June 2023, the group held an online meeting to plan concrete outputs and agreed to organise a joint meeting with the Ethics and Research Integrity Officer Network (ERION) in November, which focused on the intersection between research ethics and data management.
April 2024 saw the group meet again at the EARMA Conference in Odense, Denmark, and the first rotation of co-chair occurred with Lindsay Dowling replacing Jan Andersen. The group also secured sponsorship from Digital Science to host an in-person event in the EARMA office in Brussels, in September 2024, focusing on “Open Science in the changing global system”.
