Open Science Fund

The fourth and final round of the Open Science Fund is now open! 

Open Science is about collaboration, accessibility of methods and results, and engagement of relevant stakeholders. To promote open science at the University, the Open Science Program provides a seed fund to work on and experiment with open science practices in the broadest sense. Project proposals can range from €10,000 to €15,000. The aim is to stimulate the implementation of open science in both research and education (open education). 

Photo by Ivar Pel

In this final round, the emphasis is on practices that will have sustainable integration after the project is completed. It is therefore important to clearly indicate in the application how the process or product can be sustainably utilized. Who else can benefit from it? Who will take responsibility for the maintenance and improvement of, for example, open code, a database, or a public engagement method after the project is finished? 

To be eligible for the fund, the application must meet the following criteria: 

  • The proposal must align with the objectives of open science. For the different themes, the following directions can be considered: 
    • Open access | development or improvement of (parts of) the infrastructure for the exchange of scientific knowledge; outside the scope of the OA fund.
    • Recognition and Rewards | projects or initiatives that provide guidelines for the new recognition and rewarding of all university staff, such as methods to promote team science or indicators of quality within the TRIPLE areas. 
    • Public engagement | development or improvement of activities that stimulate the connection between the university and societal partners; outside the scope of the public engagement seed fund.
    • Open education | projects or initiatives that align with action lines 2 and 3 of the Plan of Action for Open Education.
    • FAIR data and software | projects or initiatives aimed at (promoting) data and software reuse, collaboration, and quality control; outside the scope of the FAIR research & IT fund.
  • The proposal must include a plan for the sustainable impact of the project. It should adequately describe how the lessons from the project will be implemented and have a future within the university, discipline, or society. 
  • The proposal should have achievable goals, and the timeline should be realistic for a project with a one-year duration. 

The proposal has a higher chance if: 

  • The project has established a link with education (open education). 
  • The project brings together colleagues from different organizational units (consider involving academic and non-academic staff). 

Procedure 

  • The application period starts on 7 July and closes on October 6. The application form must be submitted to the program team via the email address provided below before that deadline. All applications will be publicly published on the open science website, regardless of whether they are approved or not. 
  • A group of open science experts will assess whether the application meets the criteria mentioned above. If the number of qualifying applications exceeds the total budget of the fund, the allocations will be made through a lottery. 
  • Download the application form via this application form and submit your application no later than October 6 to openscience@uu.nl. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at the same email address.