IReL and OpenAIRE have announced the completion of a comprehensive assessment of Ireland’s National Open Access Monitor using the OSMI Principles of Open Science Self‑Assessment. This evaluation marks a significant milestone in Ireland’s commitment to advancing transparent, responsible, and high‑quality open science practices.
The National Open Access Monitor, launched to track and report on the open accessibility of Irish research outputs, was reviewed to ensure it aligns with internationally recognised standards for openness, governance, technical robustness, and community value. The OSMI Principles, which were developed to guide institutions and infrastructures in assessing their alignment with open science values, provided a structured framework for examining the Monitor’s policies, workflows, and outcomes.
The assessment highlighted several strengths of the National Open Access Monitor, including:
- Transparency and Accountability: Clear documentation of methodology, data sources, and indicators, ensuring trustworthiness and reproducibility.
- Community Engagement: Ongoing collaboration with Irish research institutions, libraries, and national stakeholders to refine metrics and ensure national relevance.
- Technical Openness: Use of open standards, interoperable workflows, and FAIR-aligned approaches that support data sharing and reuse.
- Alignment with European Best Practice: Strong compatibility with OpenAIRE’s metadata guidelines and European open science monitoring initiatives.
The review also identified opportunities for future development, such as expanding the scope of monitored outputs, enhancing multilingual accessibility, and strengthening support for institutional reporting.
“The OSMI Principles set a crucial global benchmark for open science monitoring, and we are proud to see Ireland’s National Open Access Monitor assessed so positively against them. This is exactly the kind of national commitment that the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science calls for, and OpenAIRE looks forward to continuing this collaboration with IReL, building on what has been achieved and pushing further together.”
– Ioanna Grypari, OpenAIRE
IReL and OpenAIRE will continue to collaborate on:
- refining the Monitor’s indicators,
- expanding support for research‑performing organisations,
- strengthening interoperability with European open science infrastructures, and
- ensuring sustained alignment with open science values and policy developments.