Open Science - Open Science Community Groningen

October 29, 2025November 6, 2025

Inspiring National Open Science Festival organized by the University Groningen – Thoughts by Prof. Ina Horlings

On October 26th 2025 the National Open Science festival took place at the UMCG with hundreds of participants from knowledge institutes all over the Netherlands.

RESEARCH AS COMMON GOOD
Casper Albers, co-chair of the Programme Committee and Dean of the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, explained that RUG is ahead of the trend towards Open Science. Some Faculties have already decided to phase out gold open access, refusing to pay large amounts of money to commercial publishers. Furthermore he mentioned that the RUG has decided to become independent of non-EU big tech companies in 2030. Other RUG goals for 2024-2026 are to fully embed Open Science in research and educational and maximum impact of open science research TheDean of UMCG, Wiero Niessen, argued that Open Science should be a global common good. Ana Persic, head of the open science programme at UNESC, explained why Open Science is important in the current context.

WHY OPEN SCIENCE?

– 90% of the science which is produced is not getting into the hands of decisionmakers who
would benefit from using this knowledge;
– Achieving SDGs and overcoming the global challenges requite an efficient, equitable,
transparent collaborative and inclusive science;
– We need to better connect science to societal needs and to bridge the knowledge and
technology gaps between and within countries’;
– Everyone has the right o freely share in scientific advancement and its benefits (art. 27) of
the universal declaration on human rights

We face a shifting global landscape with geopolitical tensions, rapid technological advances, with rising risks of mis- and disinformation, a decreasing trust in scientific institutions, a growing focus on national security risks and constraints on openness, solidarity and international scientific collaboration.

UNESCO
In this context there are persistent disparities: inequities in research capacity, funding and access to knowledge. However there are also successful developments and efforts in Open Science. In 2021 at the UNESCO general conference, 193 member states adopted the first international standard-setting instrument on Open Science in the form of a UNESCO Recommendation, which includes shared definitions, values and principles (diversity, inclusiveness, quality, integrity, collective benefits, equity and fairness). UNESCO also developed practical guidance such as an Open science Toolkit, Outlook, MOOC and catalogues with practices and resources.

OPEN SCIENCE AND SPATIAL SCIENCES
Our Faculty of Spatial Sciences is committed to the policies at the University of Groningen, a broad approach that not just promotes Open Access, but also stimulates Open Education, Public Engagement, community building, FAIR principles and communication. Like other faculties we have an OS ambassador and support FAIR principles via data management policy. (https://www.rug.nl/research/openscience/ug-open-science-program/). We financially support the RUG Open Access book fund. An example is the beautiful book Crossing Borders, Blending Perspectives: Trilateral Wadden Sea Explorations in which colleagues from Spatial Sciences Frans Sijtsma and Elen Trell participated (https://books.ugp.rug.nl/ugp/catalog/book/225)

POSITIONALITY AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
During the workshops at the festival very interesting workshops took place. An example is the
session on Positionality Statements. While PhDs increasingly reflect on their choices and
assumptions, a positionality statement in articles is still relatively rare. Such as statement opens up the research process, reflecting on how the identity of the researcher influences methodological decisions and choices and illuminates potential biases and hidden assumptions.

Another workshop showed opportunities for qualitative open research. How can you for example include Open science in research proposals/projects? A good example is the FSS project RECOMS (www.recoms.eu) in which FSS participated and which resulted in collaboration with non-academic partners, an open access toolkit and book on co-creative methods and an innovative MOOC on care-full scholarship. The MOOC has been integrated in the PhD training of the FSS Graduate School and is also interesting for other Graduate Schools.

Open Science is not just important for research but also for recruitment and promotion policies as part of the academic culture. The University of Leiden showed examples of narratives in science evaluation. An example is narrative based CVs for grants and career promotion decisions, including the use of videos. Via such narratives applicants can show expertise in collaborative approach, leadership and management skills and include more self-reflection than in traditional CVs.

February 26, 2025March 3, 2025

Event Recap: Celebrating Openness

On the 20th of February, the UB and OSCG organised ‘Celebrating Openness’. Showcasing the winners of the Open Research Award 2024, the day brought people interested in promoting Open Science practices together.

And what better to kick-start the event with Ellen Carbo from ZonMw to give the keynote talk, ‘Open(ing) the Science: A Funder’s Perspective‘. Starting her talk by engaging the crowd on the different facets of why Open Science is good for research and society, working to ensure academic output is ‘open as possible, as closed as neccesary’ became clear.

Highlighting how Open Science is crucial for advancing research and innovation, Ellen presented how changes to make science more open can be supported by fundeing agencies. Following her talk, discussions on activities that researchers can take to engage funders on promoting Open Science practices were brainstormed. For those interested in the slides, you can find them here.

Following the keynote, there was promise of cake but seems there was some miscommmucation so participants had to settle for coffee and tea (again, my apologies!)

The Lightening Talks followed, where the winners of the Open Research Award 2025 were presented with their prize cheques and the opportunity to present their work in Open Science.

For those interested, the winners’ research are outlined as follows:

This Abled City: Participatory Research on Accessibility with People with Disabilities
(Bettina van Hoven et al.)
Identification of age-related CpG sites from longitudinal avian methylomes
(Marianthi Tangili et al.)
An open-source solution for finding ancient viral integrations in genomic data
(Nadja Brait et al.)

Following lunch, the panel discussion on the Impact of Open Science in Academic Policy was with Eva Teuling (Faculty of Science and Engineering, ScienceLinX) and Davidu Cheruiyot (Faculty of Arts, YAG).

Discussing how the dissemination of Open Science practices across the university, a call to embed Recognition & Reward to enable further uptake was discussed. Noting that early career researchers are often spearheading the necessary cultural shift in academia, a call-to-action to support their endeavours was raised. Specifically looking at Public Engagement taken by academics, the current academic structure lacks incentives, rewards, and recognition for researchers to engage with the public. Thus ending the discussion with the question, should researchers get training in public engagement by default, just like they obtain university teaching qualifications?

Following the inspiring day, a borrel for audience members to mingle and share their thoughts with each other was the cherry on top of the sundae. As the organisers, we were very happy with the content of the speakers and the discussions that were sparked with the audience members. Looking to 2025, we hope to keep our annual award and event going.

More information to be released soon!

(images: courtesy of UB, Carlijn Kammenga and Ellen’s slides)

February 3, 2025February 3, 2025

Event Recap: Mastodon for Open Science

For those who were not at last week’s Mastodon event, you missed out!

The workshop, ‘Mastodon for Open Science’, Babette engaged the audience, showcasing the journey towards the transition to Mastodon and why it is essential to use social media platforms that are Open.

Touching on the topic of outreach, the discussion led towards what does it mean to be using social media. Engagement numbers do not present the whole picture, which is the promise of using more popular platforms (i.e. Bluesky) to engage with the audience. Although more people are registered to Bluesky, the impact of posts in Mastodon is far greater (see image). As the community surrounding accounts one follows/are followers is organic, discussions prompted on the platform are active when compared to algorithm driven engagement. Thus, rather than shouting to a person in a club hoping to engage with them, Mastodon provides a cozy cafe where one doesn’t have to shout to chat to the person next to them.

Of course, this sparked the discussion whether using Mastodon puts a fence to those engaged with Mastodon and avoids social media users who focus on scrolling through content. Bringing back to the idea of using social media to build community, if the aim of using a social media platform is to promote outreach, then Mastodon may indeed be more limited (unless more people use it). But to engage with like-minded fellows, Mastodon provides an opportunity to keep discussions with the people you want to engage with. If one thinks this is intolerant, seeing as Truth Social was started due to intolerance being kicked out of Twitter (back in the day), using Mastodon to engage with an Open community seems rather reasonable.

Still skeptical about using Mastodon? You can see one of the particpants created an account during the workshop. The response was postiive, demonstrating engagement with Mastodon is possible, especially when striving to create one’s own community.

What are your thoughts on the discussion? Curious to discuss more?
Don’t hesitate to reach out!

January 20, 2025January 20, 2025

Ongoing activities: OSC Consolidator Program

To kick off 2025, OSC Groningen is taking part in the OSC Consolidator Program, with other OSCs across the Netherlands. Outside of the usual tasks of working behind the scenes to promote Open Science in Groningen and planning workshops/activitites, this program provides a nice opportunity to discuss with fellow OSCs on the opportunities and lessons learned in managing an OSC.

What is the OSC Consolidator Program?

The OSC Consolitador Program is aimed to upskill and advance existing Open Science Communities. Since the inception of OSCs, there have been many ups and downs until now. With COVID-19 impacting how communities developed and external factors (i.e. community members leaving) which have provided both opportunities and uncertainties on how OSCs are being managed currently. For OSCG, we transitoned from monthly events to quarterly events, after hearing the feedback of community members.

With the Program, we hope to rekindle the principles of OSCs and how community engagement should be driven moving forward. The first two sessions have been completed and there is a sense of renewed vigor towards enhancing the community, not only per each local OSC but across broader OSC Netherlands.

One of the first tasks we have been assigned is the drafting of a Community Statement. Incorporating input from previous discussions, the current draft of the OSCG’s statement is as follows:

OSCG Statement

The OSCG aims to increase the visibility and accessibility of OS, both within and beyond Groningen and the north of the Netherlands. By providing a platform where everyone can acquire new skills, share their knowledge and articulate their support for the broader dissemination and uptake of Open Science practices.

This includes the transparency and inclusivity of research practices and mindfulness of different disciplines’ engagement in OS. The community is open to engage academics and students who are curious about Open Science, regardless of experience.

We strive to disseminate best practices through courses, workshops and quarterly events promoted through the newsletter and different social media platforms.

Share your thoughts!

Does the current statement ring a bell with you? Any thing that you feel is missing?

As it is a working statment, if you have any questions or thoughts, please do not hesitate to reach out and comment!

January 6, 2025January 6, 2025

Let’s get started with 2025

Happy New Year! We hope you had a nice end of the year and a relaxing time with loved ones.

For those who were not aware, the Open Science Programme (OSP) of the University of Groningen started its second phase (in October 2024). Building on the success of the first phase, this phase has expanded the number of pillars in the OSP (from 5 -> 6). The newly established Community Pillar will build on the work being done by the OSCG and engage with other stakeholders involved in the OSP.

What does that entail?

The activities of OSCG will be expanded to incorporate a broader network and the continued collaboration between other networks in Groningen (i.e. YAG, Interdisciplinary Schools, Graduate Schools). As there are many academics engaged in different aspects of Open Science, the aim of the Community Pillar is to strengthen the red thread that binds each community. With each academic discipline facing different challenges to incorporate Open Science practices, strengthening the support amongst each other presents the opportunity to foster improved knowledge exchange and reduce the need to re-invent the wheel.

What does that mean for the OSCG?

Positive news! Notwithstanding the members who are part of our mailing list (if you are not yet, you can join here), the number of OS practitioners in Groningen is growing. Thus, by being part of the Community Pillar, OSCG’s activities of disseminating the work of OS practitioners and ongoing OS events in Groningen will be shared to a broader audience. In addition to the quarterly events that organized by the OSCG, by being part of the OSP, new opportunities to engage with students and academics to better understand how OS practices are being disseminated are one of the main deliverables for the OSCG.

If you are interested in helping out, do not hesitate to reach out!

Looking to the future

With the Open Science Festival to be organized in Groningen this autumn, what better way to showcase the diverse actiities of OS practitioners through a supportive network of communities in the North. While there is uncertainty regarding funding in academic institutes, it is encouraging to see the University of Groningen continuing its support to actively stimulate and facilitate Open Science principles among our academic community.

If you are interested in learning more about what the Vision and Goals are of the current phase of the OSP, you can check out the link (here)