Slovenia

Slovenia

Overview

European Commission

Mandated Organisation

Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES)

EOSC Steering Board representatives

Slovenia laid the foundations to implement the Open Science principles in 2015, when it became a theme in the National Strategy of Open Access to Scientific Publications and Research Data in Slovenia 2015−2020.¹ Since then these principles have been written into law through the ZZrID (Scientific Research and Innovation Activities Act) that provides a plan for Regulation on Open Science.

The ZZrID mandates (1) open access to all peer-reviewed scientific publications resulting from nationally funded research projects, (2) academic journals based in Slovenia that received national public co-funding are required to provide open access to their content, and (3) data resulting from publicly funded research should be as open and accessible as possible (according to the FAIR principles), with as few restrictions as possible¹. Also, in the new Resolution on the Slovenian Scientific Research and Innovation Strategy 2030 (ZRISS 2030), Open Science is an important objective, as it is the central theme of Goal 6.2: Open Science for Improving the Quality, Efficiency and Responsiveness of Research. This Resolution has been adopted by the National Assembly on the 23th of March.¹

Current engagement of Slovenia in EOSC

The Slovenian Open Science Community, as national structure for EOSC, has already worked to increase awareness in the country through several activities:

  • Creation of a national EOSC community including all different types of stakeholders, to discuss and share experiences on EOSC and increase EOSC competences at national level
  • Engagement of organisations into the EOSC Association
  • Organisation of public webinars/events to:
    • Inform national stakeholders about the EOSC latest development
    • Collect feedback from national players and feed them into the EOSC Governance & other EOSC activities (e.g. EOSC-related projects)
    • Discuss EOSC-related topics at national/EU level (e.g. researchers incentives and rewards, etc.)

Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES)

Slovenia’s EOSC Mandated Organisation, ARNES is a public institute that provides network services to research, educational and cultural organisations, and enables them to establish connections and cooperation with each other and with related organizations abroad. The ARNES network links over 1500 Slovenian organizations and makes ARNES’ services available to nearly 250,000 people (scientists and science-related staff).

ARNES builds, maintains and manages infrastructure linking universities, institutes, research laboratories, museums, schools, databases and digital libraries. It offers users the following services: access to ARNES’ network; web, e-mail, servers; network services; multimedia services; ARNES AAI; security; registry; as well as services for individuals (webmail, hosting of personal websites, etc.). ARNES cooperates with other EU national networks in European Commission projects to test, develop and introduce new Internet protocols and services. It also provides services that are not offered by commercial organizations but which are essential to the operation of the Internet in Slovenia.

ARNES cooperates with Slovenia’s Ministries of Education, Science and Sport, and of Public Administration, as well as with other institutions, on a project basis. It also plays an active role in the EC projects SAFE-SI (http://www.safe.si/) and Spletno oko (https://www.spletno-oko.si/), under the European Safer Internet action plan.

Contact e-mail address: arnes@arnes.si

Slovenian Open Science Community (Slovenska Skupnost Odprte Znanosti)

The Slovenian national structure, started in 2021, plans to bring together national stakeholders of open science in a comprehensive and transparent arrangement and establish a single, complementary open science system in Slovenia in the areas of services, tools, infrastructures and education. It will promote the dissemination, sharing and reuse of knowledge in an open access way, develop competences for practising open science and set up a training organisation for target users. By pooling existing research services and data infrastructures, it promote the sharing of resources, services and joint participation in domestic and international open science projects. The Community will be part EOSC. [Text translated and adapted from https://mrezaznanja.si/2021/11/10/slovenska-skupnost-odprte-znanosti/]

The Community wants to include among its members organisations from all corners of the research community (Higher education and research institutions, research and e-Infrastructures, researchers, policy-makers and research funders, libraries, publishers, scientific and professional associations, community/civic science stakeholders). So far there is no indication of including businesses or other organisations from the private sector.

The Community’s website is currently only available in Slovenian and contains relatively little information about its aims and goals, organisation or other, and does not specify any contact. It does contain however links to the services offered by the member organisations.

National Events

National Tripartite Event: Slovenia
calendar_month 14 November 2023
pin_drop the Four Points by Sheraton Ljubljana (hotel Mons)

This year’s national EOSC tripartite event will focus on the future of EOSC, changes in the research assessment and copyright in the light of open science. Special attention will be given to solutions in the area of...

Event page arrow_forward

Policies

Already existing policies:

  • The ZZrID: (1) the funding body shall require, and the performer of the  scientific research activity shall provide open access to all  peer-reviewed scientific publications and research data resulting from  research activities that received at least 50% of public co-financing. (2) Open research data must be published or otherwise accessible in a way that enables their findability, accessibility, interoperability and reuse, or, in other words, in line with the FAIR principles. (3) Scientific journals of publishers based in the Republic of Slovenia and neighbouring countries (Slovenian: v zamejstvu), which contain peer-reviewed articles and are fully financed by the state, must provide open access to their content.
  • Institutional policies: (1) Research data created and collected for the purposes of the doctoral dissertation must be published or otherwise accessible in a way that enables their transparency, accessibility, interoperability and the possibility of re-evaluation and reuse. (2) The doctoral dissertation shall state where the data is available and how it can be accessed. Exceptions to data sharing are justified when it comes to personal and sensitive data or when it comes to the protection of intellectual property or the non-disclosure of threatened areas, groups or species. At least freely accessible metadata must be prepared for the data center catalogue, which shows where the research data is accessible and under what conditions.
  • The Digital Preservation Policy of the Social Science Data Archives: determines the rules, roles and responsibilities, and the system of monitoring data management in the Slovenian Social Science Data Archives, to assure permanent accessibility of archives and holdings and thus present the archive as a trustworthy data repository in the eyes of its users, data providers, and funders.

Future policies:

The open science policies are being further developed after the measurements in the ZZRIS 2030, with a plan for them to be translated into policies and action plans in 2022. The measures described to fulfil goal 6.2: Open Science to improve research quality, efficiency, and responsiveness are the following:

  • Measure 6.2.1: Effectively manage and finance the development of the national Open Science ecosystem and ensure  its coherence with international standards, develop  national structures and infrastructures related to Open Science, and foster their integration into  international networks and infrastructures
  • Measure 6.2.2: Introduce modern approaches to the evaluation of scientific research in accordance with Open Science  principles (e.g. DORA -San Francisco Declaration on  Research Assessment, Leiden Manifesto for research  metrics, (European Research Area and Innovation Committee Guidelines) to increase the quality and  impact of research.
  • Measure 6.2.3: Ensure that the results of scientific research are consistent with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible,  Interoperable, and Reusable) principles, and that full and immediate Open Access is provided (subject to  justified exceptions).
  • Measure 6.2.4: Establish a national Open Science community to implement and monitor Open Science in Slovenia, as well as its integration into ERA and beyond.
  • Measure 6.2.5: Promote the development of citizen science and public involvement in scientific research.
  • Measure 6.2.6: Promote the development of national scientific publishing that will operate according to the principles of Open Science.

People

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    NTE Slovenia 2023

    14 November 2023, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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    NTE Slovenia