DCU's CoARA Action Plan has been launched, strengthening our institutional commitments towards advancing research assessment review and reform. DCU's work in this area is overseen by the Open Research Steering Group. The Action Plan was created by our Leadership & Governance sub-group and approved by University Executive. It outlines our commitment to developing a culture of open, transparent, merit-based assessment of research and details specific milestones to help us achieve our aims.

DCU is an active member of the Irish National CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) Chapter and ECIU CoARA Working Group. The DCU Strategy (2023-2028) commits to building “a strengthened research culture consistent with the CoARA principles.

A QuID-funded event Open Research for Global Impact, took place on 15 October in DCU. Nine shortlisted presentations from DCU researchers showcased the diverse open research practices being adopted across all 5 faculties, including citizen science/PPI, open data, open access and open software. A panel of judges awarded a prize for the most impactful presentation which went to Dr Eddie McGuinness from the School of Health and Human Performance. 

News item on the event

Presentation slides

The DCU Open Research Steering Group hosted a well-attended lunchtime online event on Monday, November 4th on the topic of Author Rights for Open Access. 

Our featured speaker was Dr Eoin O’Dell. Eoin is an Associate Professor of Law in Trinity College Dublin. He is also co-lead of SCOIR, a NORF-funded project which aims to help researchers to retain their rights for the works they publish and to make their work open access. 

In the session we looked at SCOIR's work to date and the potential for its outputs to support and enable open access in DCU, including an open access policy framework for Irish institutions. 

DCU Press launched their first publication Statecraft and Foreign Policy: India, 1947 – 2023 at an event in O'Reilly Library with speakers including DCU President Prof Daire Keogh, His Excellency Mr Akhilesh Mishra, Indian Ambassador to Ireland and Gwenda Jeffreys-Jones, Dept of Foreign Affairs. The book explores India’s rise as an economic and political power on the global stage and was written by Prof Subrata K. Mitra, Dr Jivanta Schottli, and Dr Markus Pauli.

A joint initiative between DCU Library and the University’s Office of the Vice-President of Research, DCU Press is Ireland’s first open access university press and reaffirms the University's commitment to open research.

A new DCU Open Research website launched, providing a single point of access for information and support on Open Research for DCU staff and students. 

Developed by the Library with input from Research Support, it is a key action of the Open Research Steering Group in its aims to develop and support a culture of open research in the University and to promote openness across the research lifecycle.

The Steering Group hosted Open Research Landscapes, an event with speakers from University College London, Universities of the Netherlands and the National Open Research Forum. 

National Open Research Co-ordinator Dr Daniel Bangert outlined the national strategy on open research contained in the NORF Action Plan 2022-2030 while Kim Huijpen from Universities of the Netherlands and Dr Paul Ayris from UCL provided an international context.

A survey of DCU staff on Open Research by the OR Steering Group received over 200 responses. Aspects covered included awareness of the breadth of the open research movement, as well as services already on offer at DCU. The feedback provides valuable insight into current practices in the University, and where gaps or barriers to realising the opportunities of open research lie. Going forward this will directly inform planning and activities of the OR Steering Group.

A presentation of the survey findings was delivered at the DCU Open Research Landscapes event on 31st October 2023.