Skip to main content

Pilots

Co-Designing and Delivering
Real-World Solutions

OSTrails brings together national and domain-specific communities to test and refine its methods, tools, and services in real-world environments. Through fifteen national, eight thematic, and one Horizon Europe pilot, OSTrails results are shaped to meet diverse research needs, infrastructures, and levels of Open Science maturity.

Use cases

Each pilot selects a tailored set of activities from the OSTrails portfolio, built around the Plan – Track – Assess Framework.

Depending on the local context, pilots focus on one or more of the six use cases outlined:

Develop maDMP templates for national funders and local infrastructures

Pilots will develop maDMPs tailored to national funders, local infrastructures and institutional practices. These maDMPs will support automated and dynamic data management, helping researchers comply with policies and enabling institutions to efficiently manage the research data lifecycle.

Link DMPs with deposited Digital Objects

Pilots will extend repositories to archive maDMPs and create qualified, persistent connections between DMPs, datasets, software, and publications to ensure transparency and traceability.

Link and enhance diverse research outputs via SKGs

By connecting existing repositories, DMP platforms, FAIR assessment tools, and other systems to Scientific Knowledge Graphs (SKGs), the pilots will support semantic and syntactic harmonisation across services and data sources. This will facilitate the linking of diverse research outputs, including publications, preprints, DMPs, datasets, software, workflows, instruments, and FAIR assessments, into a coherent, machine-readable web of knowledge.

Define FAIR metrics and Assess Research Outputs

Co-create criteria and customise evaluation tools to assess DMP quality and FAIR compliance, aligned with funder policies and community expectations.

Assess DMP Quality Against Funder and Policy Criteria

Pilots will adapt automated tools to assess DMP quality based on national policies and funder rubrics (e.g. Science Europe, NWO, FWF). The goal is to evaluate how well DMPs meet project objectives, extending beyond FAIR to support local compliance and oversight.

Integrate maDMPs into National and Funder Reporting Systems

Help integrate maDMPs into monitoring dashboards, and funder reporting systems, making data management more streamlined and evidence based.

Why It Matters?

The pilots help make sure that OSTrails outcomes are not only technically sound but also practical and ready for adoption. They:

  • Test and validate tools in diverse national and thematic research environments
  • Tailor solutions to specific funder policies, infrastructures, and community needs.
  • Provide case studies and proof-of-concept for the OSTrails PTA Framework.
  • Support the co-definition of FAIR and DMP evaluation metrics.
  • Foster engagement, training, and knowledge sharing among stakeholders.
  • Contribute to long-term adoption and sustainability of Open Science practices.

Pilots

Publications