Open Access 2016-2017 EUA Survey Results

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This report presents the results of the 2016-2017 survey. This third wave gathered 338 responses from universities and higher education institutions across 39 European countries, which represents a 100% increase from the 2015-2016 response rate. For the first time, the 2016-2017 survey also focused on research data management and open access to research data, in addition to open access to research publications.

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Main Outcomes Regarding Research data Management and Open Access to Research Data

– Six out of ten institutions had no research data management guidelines in
place.
– Seven out of ten institutions had no open access to research data guidelines in
place.
– Institutions that lacked research data management and open access to
research data guidelines, indicated that this was mainly due to the absence of
national guidelines and the novelty of the topic. ¬
– Universities underlined the need for specific human and technical resources
(skilled and specialist staff), data repositories, appropriate e-infrastructure
and software to streamline research data management.
– To improve open access to research data, universities indicated the need for
clear university policies, including provisions for different scientific fields, and
for sustainable funding outlooks to develop human resources and technical
infrastructure.
– Universities observed that the specific skills needed for research data
management and open access to research data must span diverse areas,
including legal, data and technical aspects. Institutional coordination is
also critical, as relevant skills are typically scattered across different units,
departments and staff members.
– Universities called for policies on research data management and open access
to research data at national and European levels, with an emphasis on quality
assurance and legal matters. Best practice exchange was also considered
critical at both national and European levels.

Policy Implications

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The EUA Open Access Survey identified frequent barriers to research data management and open access to research data. These included a combination of limited financial resources, technical complexities, diverse disciplinary cultures and an absence of policies and sufficient guidelines at national and European level. These economic, technical, scientific and cultural challenges need to be addressed, and ultimately solved for the European Open Science Cloud to succeed.

Another critical factor in making open access a reality is the need for both universities and research funders to include open science practices as part of researchers’ performance evaluation and as a criteria for funding research proposals.

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