Institutional Open Access Policies: OpenAIRE National Workshop in Poland

Over 90 participants attended the OpenAIRE National Open Access Workshop that took place in Poland on June 8, 2020. The workshop was devoted to the implementation of open access policies and served as an initial point for further cooperation between open access representatives appointed in institutions that have adopted or are preparing to adopt such policies. The event was organized by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM UW) which runs the Open Science Platform and functions as the National Open Access Desk for Poland.

Open Access Policy Landscape

Jakub Szprot, responsible for managing the work of the Open Science Platform at ICM UW, welcomed guests and presented the objectives of the initiative. Natalia Gruenpeter presented the activities of the OpenAIRE National Open Access Desk and an overview of open access mandates in Poland. Only in the academic year 2019/2020, as many as 7 polish universities and one research institute adopted its own policies. Information on this subject is updated regularly on the OpenAIRE Poland page.

The first invited talk was given by Mateusz Gaczyński from the Department of Innovation and Development of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. His talk focused on current guidelines of the Ministry in the field of open access, the recommendations formulated in 2015, as well as activities at European level, in particular the development of European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). 

Subsequent presentations were delivered by open access representatives appointed in institutions that have adopted policies: 

• Katarzyna Świerk, University of Gdańsk, slides
• Anna Anetta Janowska, Warsaw School of Economics, slides 
• Jolanta Przyłuska, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, slides 
• Dorota Leśniewska, Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, slides 
• Katarzyna Marszałek and Agnieszka Ziemka International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, slides. 

Presenters highlighted various aspects of implementing open access policies as well as challenges, lessons learned and future plans.

Participant's Perspectives

The event gave participants an opportunity to discuss issues concerning research assessment, open access publishing, incentives and motivation for open access, support for researchers. Both during the chat discussion and in the surveys summarizing the event, participants indicated that it is very important to maintain and develop cooperation between open access representatives and coordinators. Also, participants suggested topics that should be addressed at further meetings, e.g. Plan S, open access policy of the National Science Center, data management plans, research data management, open sharing of research data, open access infrastructure.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic the workshop was held as an online event. The next part of the workshop is scheduled for autumn 2020; its form will depend on the epidemiological situation.