Before starting to talk about any subject, it is necessary to define the topic to be addressed. So let’s start with the basics: what is open science? It is an approach to the scientific process based on open cooperative work, tools and the dissemination of knowledge. DATAMITE is fully committed to open science practices, following the guidelines set by Horizon Europe. Our approach is based on four key principles that ensure transparency, reproducibility and broad public awareness throughout the research process.
Early and Open Research Exchange
At DATAMITE, we believe that sharing research results and plans early in the process improves the overall quality of the work. By sharing our plans prior to implementation, we ensure a more rigorous and unbiased approach, which reinforces the validity of our output.
Management of Research Results for Reproducibility
We make all data, methods and findings publicly available through open access repositories, allowing others to reproduce and build on our work. To facilitate this, we use standardised frameworks and persistent identifiers (PIDs), which help ensure that our research can be reliably reproduced and reused by the wider scientific community.
Open Access and Peer Review
Open access to research results is another fundamental component of DATAMITE’s approach. We adhere to EU regulations on open access and open science, making our work accessible to the widest possible audience. We use two strategies to achieve the highest possible impact: Green Open Access (self-archiving in open repositories) and Gold Open Access (publication in open access journals). By contributing to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), we help make data and research results easily discoverable, sharable and interoperable across platforms and disciplines.
Stakeholder Involvement and Citizen Science
Public and stakeholder participation plays a vital role in DATAMITE’s success. This inclusive approach not only increases the relevance and effectiveness of our work, but also enhances creativity and transparency. By collaborating with policy makers, businesses and citizens, we ensure that our research is aligned with society’s needs and values, while expanding the scope and quality of our data.
Additional Efforts to Guarantee Open Science
In addition to the key principles described above, DATAMITE uses online repositories to manage and publish research materials, making them available with different access permissions. We rely on platforms such as Zenodo, which is part of the EOSC, to deposit both publications and datasets. We also encourage the use of Open Research Europe, a platform that offers open access publishing without author fees, ensuring that our research remains accessible and compliant with open access standards. Wherever possible, we make our datasets publicly available through the official EU data portal.
Finally, DATAMITE also takes great care to adhere to Open Science standards. We ensure that all peer-reviewed publications are deposited in trusted repositories under Creative Commons licences, providing immediate open access. Each publication is accompanied by detailed metadata, ensuring compliance with FAIR principles and making our research fully transparent and accessible to others.
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