The 'SPOZNAJ - Support for the Implementation of Open Science Principles in Slovenia' project commenced in June 2023. Half a year into the project, the initiative included collaboration with the Central Technical Library at the University of Ljubljana and 20 public research organisations in Slovenia.

These entities are committed to aligning their procedures with the Scientific Research and Innovation Activities Act, the Regulation on the Implementation of Scientific Research in Accordance with the Principles of Open Science, as well as adhering to the practices and principles of open science within the European Research Area.

The leadership of Work Package 5, focused on the Handbook on Open Science Practices, lies with the Slovenian Social Science Data Archives.

Open Science and NextGenerationEU

Open science encompasses open access to research results, the adoption of responsible metrics for assessing the quality and impact of scientific research, and the engagement of citizens in scientific research activities. The project receives co-financing from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and the European Union – NextGenerationEU through the national Recovery and Resilience Plan.

SPOZNAJ and CESSDA

The project's objective is to raise awareness, educate, and empower the consortium partners' staff by providing them with relevant knowledge and skills in open science. This includes developing educational materials, establishing support structures, and adapting the operational mechanisms of the consortium partners to align with the principles of open science. In addition to the consortium partners, the project aims to engage other significant stakeholders in scientific research activities, such as private research and higher education organizations, independent researchers, public agencies (ARIS, NAKVIS), other public institutions (e.g., Arnes, libraries), business entities, and the wider interested public.

The ADP, Slovenian SP at CESSDA, is leading a work package in which partners will produce two handbooks on open science in Slovenian. It will also actively contribute to two work packages on raising awareness of open science and open data among the research community and on educating and training the first data stewards in Slovenia. This will include sharing good practice examples from CESSDA and promoting CESSDA services and tools.

Alignment with European Open Science Development

The "SPOZNAJ" project is aligned with the broader European development of open science. Namely, open science has been identified by the European Union as a key measure in the Research and Innovation Pact for the period 2022–2024 and was also written into law with the revised Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information.

Slovenia has adapted to these new European guidelines by enacting the Scientific Research and Innovation Activities Act in 2021, adopting the Resolution on the Scientific Research and Innovation Strategy of Slovenia 2030 in 2022, and implementing the Regulation on the Implementation of Scientific Research in Alignment with the Principles of Open Science and the Action Plan for Open Science in 2023. These legislative acts mandate those engaged in scientific research activities to ensure open access to research results, practice responsible evaluation of research work, and involve citizens in research activities.

Contact Information

For further information about the "SPOZNAJ" project, please contact NOO.spoznaj@ctk.uni-lj.si or check the project website (in Slovenian) https://projekt-spoznaj.si/.