Open Science

Open Science is the new open and participatory way of carrying out, disseminating and evaluating research.

According to the UNESCO Recommendations on Open Science (2021) and the Italian National plan for Open Science 2021-2027 (2022) it is defined as a collaborative approach to scientific research that combines various activities and practices aiming to make scientific knowledge accessible and timely reusable for everyone. More specifically, its components are: 

Open science therefore means making each step of research open, so that data and results are freely usable by everyone: in this way, scientific collaborations and information sharing can be increased and improved, to the benefit of scientific research and the community. Open Science makes it possible to improve the quality of scientific research, because being based on the principles of transparency, reproducibility and sharing, it makes the research results always verifiable, as well as reusable. In this way it allows to implement the sustainable development objectives of the UN Agenda 2030, since it brings science closer to the needs of society and provides equal access opportunities to citizens, researchers and policy makers.

Doing open science involves reviewing the traditional way of doing research, moving from the logic of "publishing" to that of "making available to all". This is not incompatible with current research evaluation practices: many parallel actions can be carried out which do not affect the career of researchers, but on the contrary they favor it.

Open Research at Luiss

Luiss Guido Carli adheres to the principles of open access to research results and the principles of responsible research and supports their development, in compliance with the protection of intellectual property.

Open Access

Luiss promotes the principle of Open Access as defined by the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities signed in October 2003, to which the University adhered through the 2004 Messina Declaration.

In the belief that this method of publication strengthens national and international visibility, dissemination and valorisation of the scientific research's results, since 2016 Luiss has adopted an Open Access policy to regulate the dissemination of the scientific research produced by the University. 

Through the University Library, Luiss adheres to several initiatives supporting the Open Access. Moreover, since 2017, Luiss is one of the partners of OpenAIRE, the European Community project aimed at developing an electronic infrastructure to make available published peer-reviewed articles reporting on FP7, H2020, Horizon Europe and European Research Council (ERC) projects' outcomes. 

More information is available at the web page dedicated to Open Access on the Library's website.

Open Science from A to Z

On 23 and 29 March 2023, the seminar "Open Science from A to Z" was held at Luiss. The initiative was aimed at at Luiss professors, researchers, research fellows, PhD students and at the technical-administrative staff who more closely support the research activities of the Departments. The course was delivered by Dr. Elena Giglia, Head of the Open Science Project Unit of the University of Turin, and was structured into two modules:

• The first one, “Open science how and why”, was aimed at outlining to participants the logic and potential of an open approach to scientific communication as an alternative to the current system and its criticalities, especially considering the experience of the pandemic. Open science is not only more robust and verifiable, but - as it provides instant access to all - it results in a greater impact on society due to the potential for reuse of university research data and results. | Watch the recording (in Italian)

• Open Access and Open Science have now become a priority on Europe's political agenda. After the launch of Horizon Europe, the topic has become even more crucial, as the adoption of Open practices is among the criteria for evaluation and selection of project proposals in the "Scientific Excellence" section. The second module, “FAIR data, EOSC and DMP”, addressed some technical aspects of "how to do" Open Science. | Watch the recording (in Italian)

The course materials are available at the page https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7746628 (the materials are in Italian but almost all the documents and tools mentioned are in English).

Making every step of the research “open”

Publishing in Open Access

There are several alternatives to publish in Open Access:

• Publishing in natively open access journals (there are over 12,000 listed in the DOAJ) - The paper is immediately open and any publication costs are reimbursable in Horizon Europe, if foreseen in the budget; however, they may not be the most prestigious journals based on current research evaluation criteria

• Using publishing platforms, preprint servers, open notebooks - These are the most innovative tools but are not yet recognized for research evaluation

• Publishing in hybrid journals: starting from 2020, Luiss Guido Carli - through the University Library - endorses several transformative agreements with the major international academic publishers. More information is available at the Publish in Open Access web page. - Costs to publish in hybrid journals are non-refundable in Horizon Europe

However, to do Open Access it is not necessary to publish in Open Access journals: in fact, researchers can exercise the Secondary Publication Right (SPR). It is possible to continue to publish in traditional journals - those considered more prestigious on the basis of the current evaluation criteria - and then deposit a trustworthy repository (e.g. IRIS) and make available in Open Access the version required by the financier and permitted by the publisher. - In this case, to comply with Horizon Europe obligations for open access to texts, a clause must be used when submitting the paper which allows you to maintain your rights and give immediate access to the postprint without any embargo

Cover image by Elena Giglia