As part of the Unite! Widening project (Task 2.5), an online Open Science Policy Forum among EU Alliances was successfully held on May 22, 2025, bringing together 42 participants across Europe to accelerate and spark the development of a European Open Science and Innovation Area among Widening and non-Widening countries.
Led by Aalto University, ULisboa, and WroclawTech, the forum featured contributions from eight EU Alliances: EELISA, ENHANCE, ENLIGHT, EUGLOH, PIONEER, T4EU, UNITE!, and YUFE. The event contributed to building a transparent, accessible, legitimate, and collaborative research ecosystem, supporting the priorities of the European Research Policy Agenda (2025–2027), the European Competence Framework for Researchers, and the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.
Collaboration across EU Alliances is essential
The participating Alliances shared best practices, demonstrating the power of collective learning and mutual support in advancing open science. They reaffirmed their commitment to scaling up implementation by operationalizing open science and innovation strategies tailored to their institutional contexts.
The Unite! Widening White Paper, available on Zenodo (link), served as a foundational resource for the discussions. It offers a roadmap for implementing open science in universities in Widening Countries by 2028, through strategic objectives, tactical actions, and measurable KPIs.
Institutional transformation requires systemic change
The forum marked a shift from tactical implementation to actionable operationalisation, encouraging universities to embed open science and innovation into their governance and daily operations. Key focus areas included are:
- Renewing university open science and innovation policies
- Reforming academic reward systems
- Promoting transdisciplinary support services
- Integrating open science into bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral curricula
- Enhancing interoperability of digital and physical infrastructures
Widening recognition and future collaboration
Students and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) were recognized as key stakeholders in this transformation. Their voices were highlighted in a dedicated session, emphasizing the importance of engaging the next generation in shaping open science futures and co-developing practical approaches for institutional change.
This event marked the successful conclusion of Task 2.5 of the Unite! Widening project. It ended with a strong call to action for continued collaboration among EU Alliances to scale up successful practices and foster a truly interconnected European Open Science and Innovation Area.
