Read the National Pilot Interview from Austria and explore all the progress of OSTrails pilot studies. Check the latest on their national activities and learn how they’re progressing with the integration of open science and research assessment. This month we had the pleasure of speaking with Daniel Spichtingerand Victoria Eisenheldfrom the Univerisity of Vienna (UNI WIEN), Tomasz Miksafrom the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien)and Ilire Hasani-Mavriqifrom the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz). Enjoy!

 "OSTrails provides the Austrian community with the means to further enhance the quality and interoperability of RDM services. Specifically, it helps us to digitally transform data management planning at TU Graz, TU Wien, Uni Wien, and AUSSDA by maximizing the uptake of maDMPs and the FAIR principles in Austria and thus benefiting researchers by lowering the effort involved in data management."

-Can you briefly introduce your organisation? How does it/do they contribute to EOSC? 

Three universities — TU Graz, TU Wien, and Uni Wien — collaborate to implement the Austrian national pilot. Each of these universities has significantly contributed to the EOSC:  

Uni Wien, member of the EOSC Association since 2020, is actively involved in several EOSC-related projects and task forces, both nationally and internationally, including major EU projects like EOSC BEYOND and EOSC Future. TU Wien has been engaged in EOSC from the early stages through its involvement in the EOSC Secretariat, participating in various EOSC projects and contributing to national initiatives. TU Graz is a member of the EOSC Focus project consortium that works towards aligning the technical development of EOSC. All three organisations are members of the EOSC Support Office Austria (the operational branch of the Austrian Mandated Organization of the EOSC Association). 

-What are you most excited about in OSTrails? What are you looking forward to? 

In OSTrails, we are looking forward tocontributing to the Plan-Track-Assess framework components by considering several use cases in the pilot, with each organisation focusing on complementary aspects. Our common goal is to enhance DMP support, which we aim to achieve through extending, aligning and integrating DMP tools, enhancing DMP support to researchers, supporting data stewards in creating discipline-specific DMPs, providing further support implementing RDM policies, promoting FAIR principles and assessing their implementation in digital objects, as well as contributing to relevant national and international initiatives. TU Wien is specifically looking forward to adoption of the Interoperability Frameworks developed by OSTrails to better integrate their RDM services, e.g. DMP Tool based onDAMAP with repositories, SKGs, and environments where researchers work with data.

-How is planning, tracking and assessing research realised in your country/scientific domain? 

In Austria, the current situation is as follows:

Planning is primarily addressed through the development and support of Data Management Plans (DMPs), including tools such as DAMAP. TU Graz, TU Wien and Medical University Graz run DAMAP as an institutional tool. They integrate it with their internal systems to maximise the reuse of information and to help in planning. Additionally, other Austrian universities participating in the national project SharedRDM are considering using DAMAP, with roll-out of the tool ongoing in some cases, and others still in the planning phase. Furthermore, many universities, including Uni Wien help researchers to meet funder requirements by manually reviewing DMPs, clarifying questions and offering trainings for researchers who write DMPs.

Tracking: Most of the universities in Austria use a CRIS system to track publications. However, these systems do not track other types of digital research objects systematically. Users can manually update relevant entries, sometimes by integration with ORCID. There is no national SKG or a comparable tracking mechanism for all types of digital research objects.

Assessing: As mentioned, staff of participating universities manually reviews DMPS on request before submission to funders. Funders usually perform simple checks of DMPs. To our knowledge, the production of digital research objects – other than publications – is not systematically reflected in the assessment of researchers’ performance at the moment. Hopefully, this will change with the adoption ofCoARA.  

-Can you provide some details on your pilot's main actors, services and priorities? How will your pilot adopt the results of OSTrails? 

All universities in the Austrian pilot, Uni Wien, TU Wien and TU Graz, have approved institutional RDM policies to guide the implementation of the FAIR principles.¹ They provide extensive RDM-services, including support for creating and implementing DMPs, and offer workshops and training to help researchers understand and apply FAIR principles in their work. They are also involved in EOSC initiatives and projects to align with national and international standards and policies. 

Uni Wien hosts the institutional repositoryPHAIDRA and is the coordinator of AUSSDA, the Austrian Social Science Data Archive consortium, which serves as the Service Provider ofCESSDA ERIC for all of Austria, offering services for the social sciences. PHAIDRA facilitates the long-term storage of research output from all scientific disciplines and multiple institutions use its open-source software across Europe. AUSSDA is certified with the Core Trust Seal that recognises it as a “trustworthy repository”. The two repositories allow and encourage the use of open licenses and provide permanent addresses for research data, along with comprehensive metadata. Uni Wien has also implemented training programs for data stewards to help bridge the gap between researchers and data management requirements.² Furthermore, Uni Wien is involved in several large international open e-infrastructures, sometimes as a coordinator and in a leading role. The Open Data movement is a significant component of this involvement. One of Uni Wien’s primary priorities in OSTrails is to develop standardised DMP evaluation practices in line with national funder requirements and thereby improve the quality of their feedback processes to researchers.

TU Wien supports researchers to publish their research output according to FAIR principles by addressing relevant issues early on with the machine-actionable DMP toolDAMAP. They also provide a data repository that offers persistent identifiers, standardized and machine-readable usage licenses, and open, free, and standardized communication protocols. FAIRness is further assured by allowing metadata to be exported in various machine-readable formats and by adding interfaces for other external services. Additionally, TU Wien integrates FAIR principles into regular workshops and a course for master students. TU Wien also serves as the primary contact for theGO FAIR Austria office, reinforcing their commitment to FAIR data principles.  

TU Wien will deploy the extended version of DAMAP that follows OSTrails Interoperability Framework for DMPs. This will allow them to have a standardised way to access information on ongoing experiments through a standardised API. Furthermore, the university plans to integrate DAMAP with software running in laboratories, where researchers conduct their experiments, to ensure better integration and to enable DMPs to become true live documents: changing contributors in a DMP created with DAMAP will result in a change of privileges in other systems, like the experimentation environment, or data repository. 

TU Grazhas ratified two discipline-specific RDM policies to implement the FAIR principles. The university has been a seminal contributor to efforts such asFAIR Data Austria, developing tools and repositories for FAIR data management, and has also instituted a marketplace for FAIR/RDM-related projects. 

The primary priority of the universities in the Austrian pilot is the enhancement of DMP support. This includes enhancing DMP support to researchers and supporting data stewards in creating discipline-specific DMPs. TU Graz, in collaboration with TU Wien, also focus on technological integration by improving and aligning machine-actionable DMP tools. Additionally, both universities aim to connect current repositories and machine-actionable DMP tools to the OpenAIRE Graph and other SKGs. Other goals of the Austrian pilot include to further support implementing RDM policies, promoting FAIR principles and assessing their implementation in digital objects, as well as contributing to national and international initiatives. 

-Ongoing activities and Next Steps? 

Given that the national pilot is supposed to start in month 18 of the project,we are still in theearly stages ofestablishing the next steps in our retrospective organisations. As a next activity, we will organise anotheronline meeting of the Austrian National Pilot. On a more technical level,AUSSDA will upgrade its repository software to increase its score in the F-UJI FAIR metric. TU Wien’s next steps willbe: a) toidentify groups of researchers for whom integration ofDAMAP via the DMP IF could be beneficial, b) to flesh out specific use cases and collect specific requirements, and c) to analyse the pathways described in Deliverable D1.1. and to discuss which of them are relevant to what extent for the university.

Thank you for the interesting discussion! 

¹ Uni Wien:RDM policy: https://rdm.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_forschungsdatenmanagement/Dokumente/RDM_Policy_UNIVIE_v1_en.pdf 

TU Wien: RDM policy: https://www.tuwien.at/index.php?eID=dms&s=4&path=Directives%20and%20Regulations%20of%20the%20Rectorate/Policy%20for%20Research%20Data%20Management.pdf

TU Graz:RDM policy: https://www.tugraz.at/sites/rdm/policies/tu-graz-framework-policy-for-rdm

² See the websiteData Stewards at the University of Vienna for further information : https://rdm.univie.ac.at/data-stewards-at-the-university/

Read the National Pilot Interview from The Czech Republic and explore all the progress of OSTrails pilot studies. Check the latest on their national activities and learn how they’re progressing with the integration of open science and research assessment. This month we had the pleasure of discussing with Robert Pergl from the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) at Czech Technical University in Prague. Enjoy!

 - Robert Pergl

"Our team at the Faculty of Information Technology, Czech Technical University in Prague, has always been passionate about machine-actionability in data stewardship. Recognizing the skyrocketing importance of data management, combined with ourexpertise in conceptualmodelling and software engineering concentrated in our Centre of Conceptual Modelling and Implementation at the Department of Software Engineering, we could not stand apart and felt compelled to advance solutions for FAIR data. Being part ofOSTrailsrepresents the pinnacle of our efforts, providing us with the opportunity to collaborate closely with amazing enthusiasts who share our vision. Beyond significant joint technological advancements, it also allows us to impactfully disseminate results, something we could never achieve alone."

 

-Can you briefly introduce your organisation? How does it/do they contribute to EOSC? 

We have been dedicated to FAIR-related initiatives from the outset, contributing to major projects and infrastructures like ELIXIR, GO FAIR, EOSC CZ, and RDA. Our flagship project is theData Stewardship Wizard (DSW), developed with our ELIXIR partners, which has become one of the major solutions for data management planning. It stands apart from other solutions in that it was designed with machine actionability in mind from day one, allowing efficient knowledge management, extensive automation possibilities, machine-generated documents, and fine-grained integrations with the entire ecosystem of tools, databases, and administrative systems. Our active involvement in theRDA’s machine-actionable DMPs working group has positioned DSW as an early adopter of supporting standards.

The EOSC Secretariat in the Czech Republic has passionate and goal-oriented professionals. We are involved in two major EOSC-rooted projects: OSTrails and “Implementation of EOSC in the Czech Republic,” which includes developing theNational Repository Platform (NRP). The NRP offers a highly integrated ecosystem of data management tools, while OSTrails focuses on machine-actionable DMPs, DMP evaluation, and RDM-supporting tools. Together, these projects provide excellent synergies, enhancing the NRP's robustness and integrating OSTrails' advanced components for a broader audience.

-What are you most excited about in OSTrails? What are you looking forward to? 

We have been dedicated to FAIR-related initiatives from the outset, contributing to major projects and infrastructures like ELIXIR, GO FAIR, EOSC CZ, and RDA. Our flagship project is theData Stewardship Wizard (DSW), developed with our ELIXIR partners, which has become one of the major solutions for data management planning. It stands apart from other solutions in that it was designed with machine actionability in mind from day one, allowing efficient knowledge management, extensive automation possibilities, machine-generated documents, and fine-grained integrations with the entire ecosystem of tools, databases, and administrative systems. Our active involvement in theRDA’s machine-actionable DMPs working group has positioned DSW as an early adopter of supporting standards.

The EOSC Secretariat in the Czech Republic has passionate and goal-oriented professionals. We are involved in two major EOSC-rooted projects: OSTrails and “Implementation of EOSC in the Czech Republic,” which includes developing theNational Repository Platform (NRP). These two projects offer excellent synergies: the NRP delivers a national highly integrated ecosystem of data management tools starting from data repositories, metadata catalogues, PID infrastructure, high-level user services on top of them together with cross-cutting activities such as security, user experience, user guides, trainings, data stewardship services, and a sustainability roadmap. OSTrails focuses on maDMPs, DMP evaluation, SKGs, and RDM-supporting tools, bringing cutting-edge components to further enhance the NRP along with a broader audience, as the NRP primarily targets researchers. Conversely, NRP will provide a robust, stable technological and organisational foundation, enabling effective operation and integration of OSTrails’ results in the future.

-How is planning, tracking and assessing research realised in your country/scientific domain? 

The Czech Republic has a strong, enthusiastic research community supported by infrastructures like ELIXIR CZ and e-INFRA CZ, along with the EOSC CZ secretariat and other organizations, such as the Czech National Library of Technology. Despite comprehensive coverage of hardware, software, tools, training, policies, and security, we still lack integrated, user-friendly solutions. Effective adoption and dissemination require bringing together all stakeholders – researchers, data stewards, institutions, funders, and government. Despite our progress with the DSW, tracking and assessing scientific data at all levels is still a work in progress.

-Can you provide some details on your pilot's main actors, services and priorities? How will your pilot adopt the results of OSTrails? 

Currently, we are experiencing an exceptional synergy between the NRP and OSTrails projects. While NRP primarily focuses on researchers, our OSTrails pilots mainly target funders. Our two primary national funders are the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR), which supports basic research, and the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR), which supports applied research and experimental development. Like in other countries, both face challenges in adapting to the global shift toward data-oriented research. This shift requires new methods for evaluating project proposals, monitoring, and assessing results, all governed by the FAIR principles. Therefore, our pilots will largely aim to assist them in this transition. We are in close communication with both agencies to set the right goals and plans, ensuring our ambitions align with their capacity to implement advancements at all necessary levels. We have agreed to collaborate on co-defining metrics for DMPs and FAIR assessment governance and compliance. We are confident that, once the OSTrails deliverables are finalized and the NRP infrastructure is fully established, we will be in a position to refine our plan and achieve even greater results together. This confidence stems from what our dear DSW collaborator Dr. Rob Hooft describes as a "stick & carrot" scenario: As pan-European demands for data-oriented research quality rise, convenient solutions will be available to facilitate adoption.

Next, the Czech National Library of Technology (NTK) is our pilot partner. NTK has excelled in implementing European standards within the Czech research landscape and has played a pivotal role in advancing Open Science through its active cooperation with key players in research and innovation. Together, we plan to develop national maDMP templates, incorporating metrics to evaluate how well these Data Management Plans (DMPs) align with the FAIR principles. Given that similar ambitions are one of the goals of the NRP project -albeit with different meansp- it will be very interesting to compare these two approaches, pilot them, and determine the optimal strategy for national requirements. This experience will not only enhance our national framework but also contribute valuable insights to the broader European community. The flexibility in applying FAIR principles is a significant driver of progress in FAIR science, and we look forward to exploring this potential. Additionally, we will be testing OSTrails deliverables at CTU and select universities to further refine and validate our approach. 

Last but not least, our pilot also encompasses CESNET, an association of universities of the Czech Republic and the Czech Academy of Sciences that operates and develops the national e-infrastructure for science, research and education. CESNET provides infrastructure, with which we have extensive experience through ELIXIR. In the pilot, it is expected that CESNET will enable the use of this infrastructure and provide technical expertise for deploying services such as the DMP evaluation tool in the national context.

Based on recent local developments, we are also considering one more OSTrails pilot beyond the scope of our original intentions, but I would rather not disclose it now, letting it be a sweet surprise if we succeed.

-Ongoing activities and Next Steps? 

In our work with OSTrails, we are heavily involved in WP2, with notable intersections in WP1 and WP3. In WP1, we are playing a key role in developing the Interoperability Framework (IF), with a particular emphasis on the DMP IF component. As leaders in WP2 and dedicated software engineers, we are truly looking forward to the implementation, which aims to enhance interoperability between various tools and produce tangible results beneficial to our users. We are currently fine-tuning our approach to ensure alignment among these tools. In WP3, we are also excited about collaborating on DMP evaluation, which we plan to integrate into DSW.

Additionally, OSTrails is crucial to achieving the NRP project’s ambition of evolving “from the pilot’s checklist to a full cockpit.” By enhancing interoperability among various RDM tools and services, OSTrails will support the robust integration with national services needed for this evolution. This integration will enable researchers to not only create comprehensive, data-intensive research plans in DSW but also to track and assess their progress with increased automation. Enhanced interoperability, as facilitated by OSTrails, is essential for realizing this goal.

The next phase involves collaborating with funders to prepare them for the pilots by developing custom DMP templates (initially non-machine-actionable) and providing training and consultations. These first steps will lay the necessary groundwork and serve as the starting point for the core of the pilots.

Additionally, we plan to establish a “Centre for Advanced Data Stewardship Tools and Methods” at our faculty, highlighting our work and commitment to data management. Needless to say, OSTrails will be one of our gems.

Thank you for the interesting discussion! 

Read the National Pilot Interview from Germany and explore all the progress of OSTrails pilot studies. Check the latest on their national activities and learn how they’re progressing with the integration of open science and research assessment. This month we had the pleasure of speaking with Jochen Johannsen and Dominik Schmitz from the RWTH Aachen University Library.Enjoy!

- Jochen Johannsen	- Dominik Schmitz

“By adopting the interoperability measures taken by the OSTrails project the DMP tool RDMO – widespread in Germany – can overcome the limitations of a national silo as well as benefit from the integrations with other tools – even beyond repositories and CRIS – to really make data management a tool to support research instead of just a burden.”

-Can you briefly introduce your organisation? How do they contribute to EOSC?

RWTH Aachen University is one of the largest technical universities in Germany with a strong focus on natural and engineering sciences.Accordingly, we alsoparticipate with a leading part inNFDI4ING andNFDI4Chem–two consortia of theNationalResearchDataInfrastructure in Germany (NFDI) focussing on engineering and chemistry. Additionally, we actively contribute to the NFDI's foundational services, particularly through theResearch Data Management Organizer (RDMO), a widely adopted data management planning tool in Germany that is central to our involvement in OSTrails.Through our engagement with the NFDI, we aim to enhance our contributions to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) beyond our individual efforts at RWTH Aachen University.

-What are you most excited about in OSTrails? What are you looking forward to?

Delivering a data management plan (DMP) without deriving any benefit during the actual research process can feel burdensome. We strongly believe that machine actionable DMPs are a way to overcome this situation. Thus, we pursue this goal by offering to integrate the RDMO tool with platforms used in engineering and chemistry, including repositories and electronic lab notebooks. In addition, we hope that the interoperability framework developed by OSTrails will facilitate integration with many additional tools beyond our initial focus. If successful, this approach will break down silos and provide comprehensive assistance to our researchers.

-How is planning, tracking and assessing research being realised in your country?

In 2015,theGerman Science Foundation (DFG) started to fund the development of a tool to support data management planning. Following a successful second funding phase that concluded in 2020, the Research Data Management Organizer (RDMO) wasestablished and quickly adopted by several universities and institutes. In 2024, RDMO entered the first of threephasesto be recognized as a prospective base service of the national research data infrastructureby means of theDMP4NFDI project.

Over time, we haveobserved a gradual increase in acceptance, driven by the implementation of individual discipline-specific templates, as well as the provision of software management planning and the German Science Foundation checklist as templates within this open platform.At RWTH Aachen University, we have noticedthat large projects particularly value DMPs as effective tools for tracking subprojects and ensuring alignment.Common decisions of a projectare embedded by altering templates and answering options thereby helping to alleviate the burden of filling out a DMP.While integration with other research tasks and systems is still in itsearly stages, initial attempts are being made to access DMPs via API for analysis. Although this cannot yet be considered a full assessment, it doesrepresentan important step toward monitoring.

By offering the RDMO tool as a hosted service with a common database within the DMP4NFDI project, weaim to support interoperable templates that are compatibleboth within and across different scientific domains.This approach will alsoestablish a solid foundation for developing effective assessment criteriaforDMPs and the digital objects they describe.

-Can you provide some details on your pilot's main actors, services and priorities? How will your pilot adopt the results of OSTrails?

The national pilot for Germany builds on the data management planning tool (RDMO) that originates in the scientific community, since it was funded by the German Science foundation. This toolis currently being established as a base service of the national research data infrastructure in Germany (NFDI) via the DMP4NFDI project. 

Beyond RWTH Aachen University, our collaboration partners are thetechnical university of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) andZBMed, the information centre for life sciences. The aim is to onboard as many discipline-specific consortia of the NFDI as possible.NFDI4Ing (engineering) andNFDI4Chem (chemistry) have been chosen to showcase the integration with other tools namelyChemotion andeLabFTW, an electronic lab notebook platform. By building on the interoperability framework that OSTrails aims for, we aim to establish these integrations swiftly. If successful, we anticipate extending this interoperability framework to facilitate similar integrations across other national and thematic pilots, enabling the rapid expansion of machine-actionable DMPs to support additional consortia effectively.

-Ongoing activities and Next Steps? 

During the first half of the OSTrails project, the major task of a national pilot is to promote the OSTrails project to local services and stakeholders and of course to learn about the findings and developments of the basic working packages to evaluate their effect on the national infrastructure. To this end, we are in touch with both the developer and user community of the central RDMO DMP tool, as well as the working group infra-DMP of the national research data infrastructure NFDI.

Through the DMP4NFDI project, which is funded by the NFDI, we aim to establish RDMO as a fundamental service in Germany, supported by helpdesk services and template management. At the same time, we are working to develop a sustainable funding and support infrastructure for the ongoing enhancement of the tool.

We look forward to learning about OSTrails interoperability framework to be ready to start our integrations with other tools as soon as it becomes available.

Read the National Pilot Interview from Greece and explore all the progress of OSTrails pilot studies. Check the latest on their national activities and learn how they’re progressing with the integration of open science and research assessment. This month we had the pleasure of speaking with Zisis Simaioforidis, Technical Coordinator, Theodora Karaiskou,Librarian and RDM Support Officer at HEAL-Link and Maria Kontopidi, associate at the Athena Research Center. Enjoy!

"The Greek pilot leverages the collaboration between OpenAIRE NOADs, Athena Research Center, and HEAL-Link—two organisations actively involved in shaping policies and enhancing infrastructure to support Open Science implementation in Greece. We are excited to contribute to standardising practices across the three phases of research, which will help us align more closely with the EOSC and create streamlined pathways between services, making it easier for researchers to manage and share all types of scientific information and research outputs."

 Elli Papadopoulou, Athena ResearchCenter. 

-Can you briefly introduce your organisations? How do they contribute to EOSC?

The Greek pilot for OSTrails builds on the successful collaboration of OpenAIRE NOADs: Hellenic Academic Libraries (HEAL-Link) and Athena Research Center (ARC). The two organisations have been instrumental in advancing the Research Data Management (RDM) landscape in Greece towards more transparent and FAIR practices. Through their involvement in the Hellenic Open Science Initiative (HOSI), which published the National Open Science Plan in 2020, these organisations are actively implementing Open Science policies within their institutions and contribute to the Plan’s wider adoption by Greek research funders and institutions. OSTrails provides us with the opportunity to invest in FAIRifyng data and in management the planning of data activities and outputs, the latter supported by CITE SA.

HEAL-Link manages significant infrastructure projects such as HARDMIN, a federated data repository infrastructure that supports 15 Greek universities and serves as the academic backbone of HELIX, the Hellenic Data Service managed by ARC. These initiatives are designed to enhance the interoperability of Greek data repositories with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) by integrating services such as Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) and machine-actionable DMPs (maDMPs). Furthermore, ARC is a member of the EOSC Association, a founding member of OpenAIRE that serves as a pillar infrastructure for EOSC, and recently has been coordinating the project that is building and deploying the EOSC EU Node.

Our work complements each other to ensure that Greece is well-integrated into the EOSC ecosystem, facilitating open and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data practices across its regions and public sectors.

-What are you most excited about in OSTrails? What are you looking forward to?

As part of the Greek pilot, at HEAL-Link we are particularly enthusiastic about the opportunity to significantly enhance the adoption of FAIR principles within the national research ecosystem. The pilot is working on developing customised DMP templates that align with the specific needs of Greek institutions and national policies. These templates will be machine-actionable, allowing for greater automation in data management processes and improving the interoperability of Greek data services with the broader European infrastructure.

This project represents a critical step towards breaking down silos within the Greek research community, fostering better communication between researchers and data stewards, and aligning national practices with European standards. With ARC and CITE we share the prospect of culminating these efforts to shift the Greek research landscape into a FAIR-enabling and open research ecosystem.

-How is planning, tracking and assessing research being realised in your country?

In Greece, research planning, tracking, and assessment are guided by a combination of national policies and institutional frameworks. The National Open Science Plan, published by HOSI in 2020, serves as the foundation for Open Science practices across Greek institutions. Both of us, HEAL-Link and ARC, lead the developments of HOSI, guiding and supporting others in implementing these policies. This year, the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation included open access requirements in national calls of EREVNO KAINOTOMO, while similar provisions had been introduced in the past by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (ELIDEK).

At the university level of HEAL-Link, we perform research assessment by manually collecting and analysing data, primarily focusing on bibliometrics. At ARC we are developing tools for tracking and assessing research outputs, including a demo monitor for projects funded by the GSRI. ARC’s involvement in the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and its participation in projects like GRASPOS further highlight its commitment to reforming the research assessment landscape in Greece.

The Greek pilot also plans to test and evaluate new methods and tools for research assessment, with a focus on aligning these practices with both national and European standards. This work will help ensure that Greece’s research ecosystem is not only compliant with Open Science principles but also competitive on the global stage.

-Can you provide some details on your pilot's main actors, services and priorities? How will your pilot adopt the results of OSTrails? 

The Greek pilot is spearheaded by HEAL-Link and ARCand supported byCITE SA, a key service provider in the Greek public sector. Our primary focus is to enhance the interoperability of Greek data repositories and enrich their metadata and semantics by utilising the OpenAIRE Graph as well as configure and connect them with tools to support FAIR data management planning and sharing. The services that will be employed for the pilot’s implementation are HARDMIN data repository infrastructure, ARGOS-GR DMP platform, and PID infrastructure.

 Key activities to be performed include the development of maDMP templates, the assessment of FAIRness in university repositories, and the implementation of policies that align with the National Open Science Plan.

The Greek pilot will co-develop and adopt the results of OSTrails by integrating them into the national research ecosystem. This involves our existing national and thematic data services to follow the interoperability frameworks for SKGs, DMPs and FAIR assessment delivered by the project so that their outputs are exchanged seamlessly and in an automated way. Moreover, we will configure maDMP templates to meet the specific needs of Greek institutions and funding bodies.

-Ongoing activities and Next Steps? 

Currently, the Greek pilot is in the preparatory phase of establishing the necessary technical infrastructure to support its objectives. This includes the development of suitable metrics for Research Data Management (RDM) and the assessment of data deposit policies within Greek universities. The pilot is also working on aligning its activities with the upcoming national policies that GSRI intends to implement, particularly concerning Open Access and DMPs in national project calls.

Next steps for the pilot include:

• Community Engagement to establish a community of stakeholders, including researchers, librarians, and data stewards, who will be involved in testing and refining the tools and services developed by the pilot.
• Cross-Pilot Collaboration within the OSTrails project to share best practices, align methodologies, and contribute to the overall success of the project.

To learn more about our Open Science efforts, visit also:

• OpenAIRE country page
• HEAL-Link
• HEAL-Link Scholarly Communication Unit

Read the National Pilot Interview from Ireland and explore all the progress of OSTrails pilot studies. Check the latest on their national activities and learn how they’re progressing with the integration of open science and research assessment. This month we had the pleasure of speaking with Lindsay Dowling, Open Research Support Unit Lead at Technological University Dublin.

 - Lindsay Dowling

TU Dublin will benefitgreatly from leading the Irish National Pilot for OSTrails, providing us with an opportunity to engage with both ourlocal Irish technological universities as project partners, and our international colleagues, to jointly implement truly interoperable systems for future development of the sector.

-Can you briefly introduce your organisation? How do they contribute to EOSC?

Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) is Ireland’s first technological university, established under theTechnological Universities Act of 2018. It is one of five new universities created as part of this initiative, all of which are collaborating as part of the national pilot for OSTrails.

These new institutions are working together across various networks, formal and informal, to develop shared approaches to research and research infrastructure development, such as the implementation of Current Research Information Systems (CRIS) and Data Management Planning PlatformArgos. 

As new institutions, we are in a good position to ensure our systems are truly interoperable, aligning withEOSC andOpenAIRE  frameworks. We are also actively involved in the development of Ireland’s national EOSC node, envisaged to run through our mandated member, but overseen by our nationalEOSC Association and Stakeholder Group, of which TU Dublin is an active member.

-What are you most excited about in OSTrails? What are you looking forward to?

What excites us most about OSTrails is thechancetocollaboratewiththe international colleagues,drawing on theirinsights andexpertiseto broaden our perspectives. We are particularlylooking forwardto the opportunity to implement and test system(s)in real-world scenarios, gaining invaluableexperiencethat will shapeour approachto future planning andsystem developmentat ourinstitutions. 

-How is planning, tracking and assessing research being realised in your country?

At presentthere is no unified national strategy for planning, tracking, and assessing research in our country. These processes are typically managed at the institutional or funderlevel. Our pilot will be one of the first to look at a multi-institutional approach, aimingto inform the development of a national strategy. This effort serves asboth a proof of concept for a joint approach anda demonstration ofbest practice for technologicalimplementationsacrossthe research sector.

-Can you provide some details on your pilot's main actors, services and priorities? How will your pilot adopt the results of OSTrails?

TU Dublin is leading the national pilot in collaboration with Ireland’s four other technological universities:South East Technological University,Munster Technological University,Atlantic Technological University andTechnological University of the Shannon. The project team consists of members from each institution from the Library & Research Offices. 

Priorities include the implementation of Argosacross our institutions as part of a suite of interoperable services designed to plan, track, and assess research activities. We see this part of the project as the building blocks for:

• A Proof of Concept for a shared national approach to research planning, tracking, and assessment. 

• Emphasizing data quality as a critical requirement for research infrastructure and its interoperability.

Further we see the ability to assess digital objects beyond ‘just’ data for FAIR compliance as being key to realising ourshared Open Research ambitions and we envisage the implementation of a recognised FAIR assessment tool - or suite thereof - as a core service at a local level, as an outcome of this project.

As emerging institutions with rapidly growing research outputs, we need systems that automated and standardized tracking and assessment of our research. At the same time, these systems must ensure flexibility and interoperability, allowing us to adapt and remain cost-efficient.

-Ongoing activities and Next Steps? 

We are currently working closely with the OpenAire office (thanks Elli!) on developing and refining our Argos instance. Current efforts focus on creating local templates, drafting comprehensive support documentation, and testing import/export functionalities to ensure seamless operation. We aim to have our test instance ready by Q3 of 2025 to begin researcher testing and training across our institutions. 

Beyond the technical implementation, we are working on joint documentation and positions for utilization of the system to ensure as much synergy and shared approach as possible, while still accommodating the unique requirements and context of individual organizations. This dual focus ensures a robust and adaptable foundation for the pilot’s success.

Read the National Pilot Interview from Serbia and explore all the progress of OSTrails pilot studies. Check the latest on their national activities and learn how they’re progressing with the integration of open science and research assessment. This month we had the pleasure of speaking with ObradVučkovac from the University of Belgrade, “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences - Library department. Enjoy!

 - ObradVučkovac

"The Serbian research ecosystem, particularly its funding bodies and policymakers, stands to benefit significantly from theOSTrails national pilot. One of the biggest challenges in advancing Open Science practices lies in the effective planning and assessment of research. The introduction of tailored, machine-actionable DMP templates, integrated with the national CRIS system and institutional repositories, alongside automated FAIR assessment tools, will enhance the quality and compliance of research outputs. These efforts are expected to strengthen Serbia's position within the EOSC and foster a more robust Open Science culture nationwide."

-Can you briefly introduce your organisation(s)? How does it/do they contribute to EOSC?

Established in 1808, theUniversity of Belgrade is the oldest and largest higher education institution in Serbia and one of the leading academic institutions in South-East Europe and the Mediterranean region. Dedicated to promoting Open Science practices, the University of Belgrade embraced Serbia’s national Open Science policy in 2019 and is an active member of the EOSC Association. The University is actively participating in the OSTrails national pilot through itsComputer Centre RCUB (in Serbian: Računarski centar Univerziteta u Beogradu) and theLibrary of the“Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences. This initiative will involve collaboration with three additional RPOs to assess their institutional repositories and train their researchers. RCUB is the leading service provider of institutional repositories in Serbia, operating more than forty repositories. All RCUB’s repositories are designed in compliance with theOpenAIRE’s Guidelines and integrated with theOpenAIRE Research Graph. Several repositories were onboarded at the EOSC Marketplace. It serves as the OpenAIRE National Open Access Desk (NOAD) and has been involved in numerous Open Science projects and initiatives, including GEANT, BE-OPEN, OpenAIRE Advance, and NI4OS-Europe. The “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences’ Library represents the growing community of research librarians in Serbia, who have been active in managing institutional repositories and promoting Open Science practices, particularly in areas such as Research Data Management, FAIR and Open Data, and Open Access. Research librarians in Serbia are positioning themselves as leaders and advocates for Open Science by offering educational activities and providing research support to facilitate the publication of FAIR and open research results. Some of these initiatives have even been awarded through Horizon Europe-funded projects.

-What are you most excited about in OSTrails? What are you looking forward to?

The Serbian national pilot aims to address some of the current challenges researchers in Serbia face when practicing Open Science activities, particularly those mandated by the National Policy on Open Science and by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, the national research funder. One pressing issue is the absence of a proper DMP template in the Science Fund’s research calls. The OSTrails national pilot aims to address this by developing a machine-actionable DMP template aligned with FAIR principles, enabling the Science Fund to better integrate and utilize DMPs in their workflows. Additionally, the pilot will address the need for a FAIR assessment tool, which is crucial for evaluating research outputs in line with the mandated FAIR principles. This tool is essential for fostering Open Science practices and ensuring that data, software, and research outputs align with the broader goal of integrating into EOSC. Projects and activities like this are expected to significantly influence researchers in adopting Open Science practices. This national pilot will address all current issues and fill the gaps necessary to fully embrace the culture of Open Science in Serbia.

-How is planning, tracking and assessing research being realised in your country/scientific domain?

TheScience Fund of the Republic of Serbia mandates Data Management Plans (DMPs) but lacks a suitable template, leaving researchers without effective guidance. Whileprevious initiatives, including those by the EOSC Secretariat, have promoted DMP culture and developed a template in Argos DMP platform, itremains vague and insufficiently tailored for specific disciplines, particularly in managing sensitive data. This national pilot will address these gaps by creating two machine-actionable DMP templates in Argos—one for Science Fund applicants and another for University of Belgrade PhD students—aligned with Science Europe’s guidelines and FAIR principles. Additionally, guidelines for manual DMP evaluation and a FAIR assessment tool will be integrated. By2023, all research outputs in Serbia are tracked via the national CRIS, eNauka, which automatically aggregates outputs from institutional repositories, library OPAC catalogues, andCrossRef and researchers' ORCID. The planned deposition of DMP into institutional repositories through Argos and integration with other digital entities is expected to enhance overall data management practices by promoting greater transparency and usability of research outputs. Although both the national Open Science policy and the national research funder require adherence to FAIR principles for research data and outputs, there is currently no recommended or customized service for FAIR assessment. DMPs are evaluated manually, without clear guidelines on quality assessment or FAIR compliance. The existing national regulation for the assessment of research outputs primarily focuses on research articles, monographs, and similar publications, and does not adequately address the assessment of research data, software, or Open Science activities. The integration of automated FAIR assessment metrics, resulting from the OSTrails project, is expected to significantly improve the evaluation process, particularly in the project planning phase, by providing early insight into the compliance of research outputs with FAIR principles.

-Can you provide some details on your pilot's main actors, services and priorities? How will your pilot adopt the results of OSTrails? 

The implementation of Serbia's national Open Science policy in 2018 mandates that research funded by the Ministry be publicly accessible and deposited in trusted repositories. This policy led to the rapid establishment of institutional repositories across research institutions in Serbia, with the RCUB playing a crucial role in developing the infrastructure. RCUB-developed repositories feature clear policies, long-term preservation, and integration with the OpenAIRE Research Graph. Notably, theDAIS repository of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts received the Core Trust Seal certificate in 2022. RCUB's expertise in infrastructure design and standards has been crucial to building the national CRIS, eNauka, launched in 2023. The librarian community is familiar with the Argos platform for writing and publishing DMPs, thanks to an EOSC Secretariat-funded initiative in 2020 aimed at creating a model for local capacity building in research data management, tailored to the needs of non-EU Western Balkans countries. This project produced an initial DMP template for the Science Fund, complete with guidelines. As the main priority in the OSTrails national pilot, we will continue developing Argos by designing customized, machine-actionable DMP templates. Institutional repositories and the eNauka CRIS will be enhanced with new digital object types to accommodate machine-actionable DMPs and to integrate current repositories and machine-actionable DMP tools with the OpenAIRE Graph and other SKGs. The Serbian national pilot will also support the implementation of RDM policies, promote FAIR principles, and evaluate their application in digital objects.

-Ongoing activities and Next Steps? 

Though the national pilot officially begins in the 18th month of the OSTrails project, preparatory work is already underway. One of our key tasks is designing a machine-actionable DMP template for the national funder. We held an initial meeting with the Science Fund to present our ideas for the template and the evaluation guidelines, which received a positive response. 

Before the pilot’s official start, the following steps are planned:

a) Identifying research groups for assessing the DMP templates. 

b) Promoting the OSTrails project and our involvement in the national pilot at the “Open Science Days” conference, organized by the University of Belgrade in November 2024. 

c) Discussing the design of the DMP template for PhD students with the University representatives. 

We expect this national pilot to build on our previous efforts and significantly improve the adoption of FAIR principles and research practices in Serbia. A new national Open Science policy is forthcoming, which will cover more aspects of Open Science, such as Research Data Management, Open Data, Open Software and Hardware, and Open Infrastructures. The OSTrails project results are expected to significantly impact on the implementation of these new policies. By thoughtfully implementing machine-actionable and integrated DMPs in research processes, tracking and connecting research results with SKGs, and assessing digital objects for FAIRness, Serbian science could see substantial improvements in research support.