SDU’s Open Science policy has been revised – what does this mean for you?

Open Science has been a priority at SDU for a number of years, and the University’s revised Open Science policy has just been approved by the Executive Board.

The new policy contains new focal points in the continued implementation of Open Science practices at SDU. At the top of the agenda is an increased focus on research data, which will impact researchers and research support units in the coming years.

– The revised open science policy has implications for the tasks of researchers and research support. In the funding landscape, for example, there are increasing demands for researchers to put down on paper what they intend to do with their data and how they intend to publish, so that the research will be as accessible to society as possible. Data management plans are already a significant part of research projects, and they will become even more important, says Anne Thorst Melbye, head of the Department of Research Documentation, about SDU’s new Open Science policy.

As open as possible

She further explains that the new policy is based on the basic idea that research and research data produced at SDU should be as open as possible – as closed as necessary.

This means that research articles and research data must be made available to researchers who want to continue working in the field and to companies, organisations and others who need research-based knowledge for their continued development.

But in addition to openness, copyright rules and legal, ethical and contractual obligations must of course also be respected, and it must be ensured that future commercialisation opportunities are protected and that unwanted knowledge transfer does not take place.

New initiatives

Another new focus point in SDU’s new Open Science policy is citizen science, which is mentioned in the policy with a clear call to involve citizens in research projects whenever it is relevant.

There is also a focus on a more nuanced and transparent evaluation of research so that all forms of impact are included – in line with SDU’s signing of CoARA’s The Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment

The next steps

The University’s faculties and departments have just begun work on implementing the new Open Science policy at the local level, and by 1 May 2025 all faculties and departments must have a local implementation plan ready.

See the full new Open Science policy