The Irish Research eLibrary (IReL) has been appointed as the new host of the National Open Research Forum (NORF). This transition follows a formal mandate issued by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), which reflects IReL’s national leadership in delivering open scholarship infrastructure and services across Ireland’s higher education and research landscape.
The Implementation of Ireland’s National Action Plan for Open Research 2022–2030 is led by NORF within the framework of Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy, which recognises the key role of open research in promoting good research practices and quality outcomes. Since 2020, NORF has been housed under the Digital Repository of Ireland, at the Royal Irish Academy. This stewardship of the NORF has strengthened national coordination, advanced Ireland’s open research agenda, and laid a robust foundation for the next phase of development.
The governance transfer marks a new chapter in Ireland’s commitment to supporting a coherent and sustainable Open Research ecosystem, ensuring that researchers, institutions, and the public continue to benefit from coordinated efforts to open up access to research.
“Today’s announcement represents an important step forward in Ireland’s ambition to play a leadership role in establishing open research practices as a national standard. IReL has demonstrated excellence in delivering critical research infrastructure, and I am confident that its stewardship of NORF will accelerate Ireland’s progress in increasing research impact through openness, transparency, and research integrity.”
– James Lawless T.D., Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
“IReL is proud to take forward the important work of the National Open Research Forum. We deeply appreciate the excellent leadership provided by the Digital Repository of Ireland, whose dedication has been vital to NORF’s success to date. IReL is committed to building on this foundation to strengthen national alignment, support the research community, and ensuring that open research continues to advance as a core pillar of Ireland’s research environment.”
– Susan Reilly, Director, IReL
IReL will work closely with DRI to complete the transition of responsibilities with a view to being fully operational by the end of 2026.
About IReL
IReL’s mission is to provide sustainable and inclusive access to scholarly communications in support of Irish research excellence and impact. Established in 2004, it provides participating member institutions with access to a wide range of licensed e-resources, open access publishing agreements with over twenty publishers, and open research infrastructure. IReL is hosted by Maynooth University.
IReL has endorsed the NORF Action Plan, in particular its goal that by 2030 Ireland will have implemented a sustainable and inclusive course for achieving 100% open access to research publications.
About NORF
Ireland’s National Open Research Forum (NORF) was established in 2017 to drive the Irish agenda for open research. NORF provides a space for communication, consultation and cooperation among key stakeholders in the research system regarding strategic issues and overarching policies and procedures in open research. The Forum combines the expertise of representatives from policy, research funding organisations, research performing organisations, the library sector, enterprise and other key stakeholders in the research system across Ireland.