Slovenia

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 Science¹. 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 

11 October 2022 | National Tripartite Event:

• Videos
• Programme
• Article

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.