Website: OPUS Project
Start: 01-09-2022 - End: 31-08-2025
Project Number: 101058471
Programme: Horizon Europe
Topic: HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-45
Key Action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices
Action Type: Capacity Building in higher education
Coordinator: PLOCAN

The Open and Universal Science (OPUS) project will develop coordination and support measures to reform the assessment of research and researchers at Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) toward a system that incentivises and rewards researchers to practice Open Science. We understand the term ‘Open Science’ to refer to practices providing open access to research outputs, early and open sharing of research, participation in open peer-review, measures to ensure reproducibility of results, involving all stakeholders in co-creation. We henceforth in this proposal employ this interpretation of Open Science with a specific focus on reforming the research(er) assessment system to incentivise and reward researchers to take up these practices. OPUS employs a three-tiered approach to ensure representation and consensus building of key stakeholder groups in the Open Science ecosystem: 

1. our large project consortium consists of researcher organisations, RPOs, RFOs, industry organisations, and experts in project management, public relations, and Open Science 
2. a series of stakeholder engagement sessions will be held with the broader community to gather input and validate key project deliverables 
3. an Advisory Board of key representatives will ensure expert oversight and links to the community.

OPUS Objectives:

1. Conduct a comprehensive state-of-the-art on existing literature and initiatives for Open Science
2. Develop a comprehensive set of tools to implement Open Science at RPOs and RFOs
3. Develop realistic indicators and metrics to monitor and drive Open Science at RPOs and RFOs
4. Test the interventions and indicators and metrics via action plans in pilots at RPOs and RFOs
5. Utilise a stakeholder-driven feedback loop to develop, monitor, refine, and validate actions
6. Synthesise outcomes into policy briefs and a revised OS-CAM2 for research(er) assessment

Eurodoc particularly collaborates in the state of the art on Open Science incentives, metrics, and indicators, as well as in drafting and disseminating policy recommendations.