ON-MERRIT D3.3 Uptake of Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation in Policy and Training

Training and skills are acknowledged as key aspects in the uptake of Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation practices. This deliverable presents two studies undertaken to understand current institutional structures for OS/RRI training and their relation to current levels of adoption of OS/RRI practices:

1. An international survey of 167 active researchers to assess their practices and opinions regarding OS/RRI, as well as the institutional support for these practices
2. In-depth interviews with representatives responsible for training provision in 11 institutions across three continents to identify the support, drivers and barriers to OS/RRI from an institutional point of view.

The results from these studies show that currently OS/RRI training structures struggle to address practices beyond Open Access and Research Data Management, with a need for increased capacity, better institutional incentives, and more practical and flexible training (especially at the disciplinary-level). Our survey reveals that uptake of training is surprisingly low, despite showing that respondents themselves see concrete benefits for their research practices.
These results highlight the difficulties involved in providing OS/RRI training and support services at the institutional level but reiterate the fact that training in OS/RRI is essential for researchers to be able to perform science in a solid and transparent way and comply with most funder’s requirements and mandates worldwide. There is a need for skilled professionals and the development, normalization and integration of OS and RRI into curricula. In addition, the role of communities in reinforcing practices and promoting a real cultural change must be fully embraced. More work to foster interoperable infrastructures, integrated training resources and peer-to-peer training, as well as increased resources for training staff and infrastructure are desirable.