From principles to practices: Open Science at Europe’s universities

The report presents the results of the survey conducted in 2020–2021 on Open Science in European universities (6th edition, running since 2014) and provides evidence-based recommendations for institutions, researchers, funding agencies, and policymakers to support the transition to Open Science.

The initiative is led by the European University Association (EUA), which coordinates and publishes its periodic survey on Open Science in European universities. The work is overseen by an ad hoc group involving members of the EUA Expert Group on Science 2.0 and Open Science, with support from the EUA’s Research & Innovation Unit. Key actors include the surveyed universities and higher education institutions, while the EUA Secretariat contributes to the design and editing of the report.

The aim of the study is to assess the level of development and implementation of Open Science in European universities, with a particular focus on the role of policies and how they are put into practice institutionally.

It also addresses both established areas of Open Science (open access and research data) and emerging areas (open science and open education).

Based on the survey results, it sets out proposed actions and recommendations for universities to implement.

European universities and their stakeholders (especially academic and research staff), and indirectly students and society at large.

The results show that more than half (59%) of the surveyed universities assign high or very high strategic importance to Open Science. 54% already have an Open Science policy and 37% are in the process of developing one; only 9% have no intention of doing so.

Regarding open access to publications, 90% of institutions have their own repository or participate in a shared one; 66% have platforms for hosting/publishing journals; and 66% participate in or support non-commercial open access publishing. Almost all recognize the importance of open access, with monitoring levels around 80% (tracking deposits in repositories and publications in open access journals).

A significant gap was identified between perceived importance and implementation in areas related to research data: while 55–70% consider data management, FAIR data, and data sharing to be very important, only 15–25% report high levels of implementation. More than 50% of institutions reported that the necessary skills for data management are only partially available, and there is broad agreement on the need to expand training at the institutional level.

Approximately 50% of institutions report being aware of citizen science and open education initiatives in their universities. However, in 34% of universities none of the Open Science elements are included in academic assessment; among those that do include them, 77% take into account the deposit of articles in repositories.

The study highlights three key challenges/measures to be adopted in light of the findings:

• Creating conditions for Open Science to become widespread and the standard mode of scientific production.
• Continuing to invest in integrating Open Science policies and practices within universities, and training researchers in the relevant skills (open data, etc.).
• Aligning research assessment, rewards, and incentive systems for researchers and academic staff with Open Science practices.

Consolidated series with 6 editions since 2014 and cumulative participation of over 700 European institutions, demonstrating sustained relevance. The 2020–2021 edition reached 272 institutions in 36 countries, with response rates of 76–100% among EUA members in 9 countries.

The study provides robust empirical evidence that has been used to inform national and European Open Science policies, including contributions to the European Research Area (ERA) and EOSC. The full dataset is openly available on Zenodo, enabling secondary analyses and comparisons.

The results help institutions identify gaps between strategic importance and practical implementation (e.g., a 40–55% gap in FAIR data-related areas), set comparative benchmarks with similar institutions, and prioritize investments based on evidence of which practices have higher uptake.

The survey methodology is replicable at national/regional level for institutional diagnostics. Institutions can adapt the analysis framework (importance vs. implementation) to assess their own Open Science policies. The evidence-based recommendations are applicable across different institutional and disciplinary contexts, as shown by the diversity of participating profiles (64% comprehensive universities, 13% technical, 13% specialized).

• From principles to practices: Open Science at Europe’s Universities. 2020-2021 EUA Open Science Survey results: https://www.eua.eu/images/2021_os_survey_report.pdf