Working together to deliver an Open Research Action Plan

In January 2019 the University published a Statement on Open Research, in which we made a commitment to build a culture of open practice within our research community.

Professor Parveen Yaqoob, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, today announces the launch of the University's Open Research Action Plan, a three-year plan to increase awareness and use of Open Research practices. The Plan is available to download from the Open Research page (under the Useful Links section), and has been developed by the Committee on Open Research and Research Integrity (CORRI). It will be implemented in collaboration with our research community.

Professor Yaqoob explains:

"The University has put Open Research at the heart of its mission because we believe that research should be open, transparent and reproducible. This is about research integrity and quality, and the capacity of our research to generate public benefit. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how important it is for researchers to be open and collaborative, and to share not only their results, but also the methods, data and materials that enable those results to be replicated and validated. We want to work with our research community to make a culture of Open Research flourish."

The Open Research Action Plan is a three-year funded programme. The implementation group is led by Dr Phil Newton, Research Dean for Environment, and includes members of the CORRI and the Library's Research Engagement team. This group will work with the research community to develop and deliver the plan.

Among other things, the University will recruit and fund schools-based Open Research Champions, fund researcher-led projects and activities with an Open Research focus, deliver a range of training to develop skills in areas such as research programming and statistics, and implement measures to incentivise adoption of open practices. The Plan provides a flexible framework and will evolve in response to the needs of our research community and the changing higher education landscape.

During the remainder of this academic year, members of the implementation group will visit schools to outline the Plan and invite the input of our research community into its development and delivery.

The University encourages all members of our research community to take part in the conversation about Open Research. If you are interested in helping to develop our Open Research culture, or want to find out more about the Plan, please contact Robert Darby, Research Data Manager.

To learn about Open Research, take a look at the Open Research Handbook and our Open Research case studies, celebrating inspiring examples of open practice from our colleagues and students.