Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information

Summary

International declaration that promotes that information about research should be open by default. It proposes institutional commitments to use open metadata, identifiers and infrastructures in the areas of research evaluation, science policy, the monitoring of open science and transparent decision-making.

Promoting organizations

Prepared by more than 25 research information experts, coordinated by Bianca Kramer, Cameron Neylon and Ludo Waltman, in a workshop hosted by SIRIS Foundation (Barcelona Declaration, s. f.-a). Since 2025 it has received financial support from CWTS, Crossref and SIRIS for three years (Barcelona Declaration, 2025).

Objectives

The Barcelona Declaration responds to a structural problem of the scientific system: a substantial part of the information used to manage, evaluate and guide research remains locked within proprietary infrastructures, with restrictions on access and reuse. This dependence makes it harder to detect errors and biases, reduces the reproducibility of indicators and limits the capacity of researchers, institutions and funders to audit the evidence used in evaluation or science policy decisions (Barcelona Declaration, 2024a).

The initiative argues that research information should be open by default. It is not limited to bibliographic metadata: it includes information on publications, data, software, funding, organizations, contributors and other elements of the research process. Its aim is to change the conditions under which that evidence is produced, managed and used, so that it becomes accessible, reusable, linkable through persistent identifiers and sustained, where possible, by open scholarly infrastructures that are accountable to the community (Barcelona Declaration, 2024a).

The declaration articulates this change through four institutional commitments: making openness the norm; working with services and systems that allow open information to be exported through standard protocols and identifiers; supporting open infrastructures with community governance and fair contributions; and driving collective action to accelerate the transition away from closed systems (Barcelona Declaration, 2024a). Its implementation combines institutional adherence and collective work. After the public launch, the 2024 Paris conference defined a road map covering publication and repository metadata, funding mechanisms, the replacement of closed systems, the sustainability of infrastructures and the evaluation of open sources (Barcelona Declaration, 2024b). On the basis of that road map, several working groups were then organized to turn the declaration’s principles into coordinated actions.

Beneficiaries and stakeholders

It is primarily aimed at organizations that conduct, fund and evaluate research, as well as at scholarly information infrastructures. It also affects researchers, research managers, libraries and policymakers who rely on metadata for analysis, evaluation and open science decision-making.

Results

  • The Barcelona Declaration was published on 16 April 2024, with four commitments for organizations that conduct, fund or evaluate research (Barcelona Declaration, s. f.-a, 2024a).
  • Following the Paris conference of September 2024, a road map was drawn up with actions on metadata, repositories, funding, the replacement of closed systems, the sustainability of infrastructures and the evaluation of open sources (Barcelona Declaration, 2024b).
  • Seven working groups linked to the road map were established, with a results horizon of 6 to 24 months and coordination by signatory organizations (Barcelona Declaration, s. f.-b).
  • In 2025 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed under which CWTS, Crossref and SIRIS Foundation committed financial support for three years to the coordination office (Barcelona Declaration, 2025).
  • According to the initiative, in 2025 it gained 30 new signatories and 7 supporters from 17 countries, and national networks were fostered in the Netherlands, the German-speaking countries and Italy, with France in the process of taking shape (Barcelona Declaration, 2026).

Challenges

The main challenges are moving from formal adherence to verifiable changes in internal systems, contracts, metadata flows and evaluation practices; reducing dependence on closed providers without losing operational quality; sustaining open infrastructures through community funding and governance; and ensuring that openness respects ethical and legal limits, especially where sensitive data or privacy risks exist. The initiative also acknowledges the need to broaden the geographical representation of its working groups (Barcelona Declaration, s. f.-b, 2024a).

Interest and transferability

Its interest for MIREA lies in connecting the reform of research evaluation with a concrete operational condition: having open, auditable and interoperable research information. For universities, funding agencies and science policymakers, it offers a framework that can translate into criteria for procuring or developing CRIS systems, metadata requirements, the use of persistent identifiers and participation in community infrastructures (Barcelona Declaration, 2024a).

Its transferability is high as a framework of commitment, because it does not require replicating a single structure but adapting internal policies and management capacities. However, its application requires resources, information management skills, coordination with providers and clear criteria on which information can be opened. The working groups, national networks and examples of institutional implementation show an initial transfer, although still oriented more towards commitments and learning than towards consolidated evidence of systemic change (Barcelona Declaration, 2026).

Bibliography

Specific information

Topic: New models of research assessment

Type of initiative: Declaration / manifesto

Implementation scale: International

Responsible agents: Researchers, Research managers

Location: Worldwide

Keywords: research assessment, governance

Start and end date: 2024 -

Sustainability: Active with documented continuity

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Authorship information

Created on: 15/06/2026

Last updated: 15/06/2026

Author of record: Ana Carballo-Garcia

Author’s institution: Universitat de Barcelona

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