Denmark open science
National Strategy for Open Access
Status: As of Spring 2024, it is under revision chaired by The Ministry of Higher Education and Science.
Summary: Denmark's National Strategy for Open Access aims to ensure that by 2025, all scientific articles from Danish research institutions are published as Open Access. This initiative is primarily focused on the green model, which involves storing peer-reviewed scientific articles in Open Access institutional repositories. However, the golden model, which entails immediate publication in Open Access journals, is not excluded provided it does not incur additional publishing costs. This strategy underscores Denmark's commitment to enhancing the visibility and accessibility of research outputs, supporting the continuous publication in prestigious journals, and ensuring that public expenditure on research publications does not significantly increase.
Contact: Hanne-Louise Kirkegaard, hki@ufm.dk
Source: https://ufm.dk/en/research-and-innovation/cooperation-between-research-and-innovation/open-access/Publications/denmarks-national-strategy-for-open-access
National repository for research data (DeiC Dataverse)
Status: In the final testing phase before onboarding Front Office superusers at universities, with implementation expected during 2024
Summary: DeiC Dataverse is a national digital repository in Denmark, designed to support a national data management infrastructure. It allows researchers from 8 Danish institutions to register, publish, and share metadata about their research data that has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). The platform is built on the principles of FAIR data, ensuring that data is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. DeiC Dataverse is part of the Danish e-Infrastructure Consortium's strategy to facilitate seamless data sharing across borders and disciplines, enhancing the quality and reusability of research data.
The current implementation of a national data repository is the most concrete development of a national open science service. In developing this service, repository managers, researchers and institutions must engage in discussions on open data practices that balance knowledge-sharing with research integrity risks. Several Danish and international institutions have solidified collaborative efforts across domains at their institutions, where questions on copyright, licenses, collaboration, tools, and guidelines can be handled. Collaborative efforts include specialists from research data management, information security, copyright, research integrity, GDPR, legal and tech transfer.
The shared data publication portal will be a Danish controlled alternative to Zenodo (DTU has DTU Data, but it has been the only university with a data publication service).
Contact info: Rene Belsø, rene.belso@deic.dk
Source: https://deic.dk/en/data-management/data-management-services/DeiC-Dataverse
National strategy for FAIR research data management
Status: During the 2022-2024 period, there are several ongoing national working groups on implementing the strategy at the research institutions.
Summary: The Danish national strategy for FAIR research data management is a comprehensive plan aimed at enhancing the management of research data in Denmark. It focuses on the principles of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability (FAIR), ensuring that research data is well-managed and can be easily accessed, understood, and used by others. The strategy is directed at research institutions and funding foundations, outlining principles and action areas to promote the dissemination and financing of good data management practices. This initiative aligns with the EU directive on open data and the Danish PSI Act, aiming to increase the accessibility of publicly funded research. A follow-up group has been established by the Danish Agency for Education and Research to oversee the strategy's implementation, ensuring that it meets the expectations of the research community and society at large. The strategy is Denmark’s equivalent to an Open Science policy, which DTU Biosustain along with others at DTU and other universities are part of.
Contact info: Anders.Conrad@deic.dk or Rene.Belso@deic.dk
URIS guidelines
Status: Work is ongoing.
Summary: Danish universities are meeting an increased threat of espionage, cyber espionage, and cyber-attacks. The national URIS guidelines have been developed to aid higher education institutions manage economic, ethical and security related risks in international collaboration. The guidelines must be implemented at Danish universities. A recent thematic event (“Temadag om danske universiteter i en ny geopolitisk virkelighed”/Thematic day about Danish universities in a new geopolitical reality) addressed how universities try to balance freedom of research and open science in the changing geopolitical situation.
The guidelines in short are:
- Identify and protect your critical research.
- Know your research potential and value.
- Protect your knowledge and results.
- Know the rules for export and investment within your research field.
- Know the persons you collaborate with.
- Investigate the persons you work with.
- Ask yourself why you are working with them: Is it relevant? Do you get as much as they get?
- Restrict what you collaborate with.
- Protect your institution, personnel, and students.
- Acknowledge there is a risk and train your personnel and students, so they are aware.
- Put focus on security systems and procedures.
- Restrict access to knowledge and put in place on-boarding mechanisms to ensure future foreign colleagues have the correct background.
- Educate on how to identify, avoid, and report foreign interference.
Source: Guidelines for international research and innovation collaboration (in Danish)
Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity
Status: The Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity will be revised in 2024, and it is anticipated that collaborative practices of research will receive more attention during such work. The Open Science work at universities must also reflect these revisions.
Summary: The Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity establishes a framework of principles and standards to ensure the credibility, integrity, and quality of Danish research. It emphasizes a research culture rooted in honesty, transparency, and accountability. Applicable to both public and private research institutions, the Code serves as a common foundation across various fields of research, promoting responsible conduct and addressing issues such as research planning, data management, publication processes, and authorship. Drafted by a working group under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and Danish Universities, it underwent public consultation and discussion at a conference in 2014.
Contact info: Ministry of Higher Education and Science
Source: https://ufm.dk/en/publications/2014/the-danish-code-of-conduct-for-research-integrity
How to FAIR
Status: Active
Summary: The "How to FAIR" website is a comprehensive resource designed to guide researchers through the process of making their research data align with the FAIR principles, which stand for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The site provides detailed instructions and insights on applying these principles in practice, creating a Data Management Plan, and effectively disseminating research project results. It features an 18-minute read on documentation, a 12-minute segment on file formats, a 20-minute discussion on metadata, and shorter reads on access to data, persistent identifiers, and data licenses. The resource was created originally by the Danish National Forum for Research Data Management, with support from DeiC in collaboration with experts from various Danish universities. It is intended for anyone seeking practical guidance on enhancing the FAIRness of their research data.
Contact info: rdm-support@bib.sdu.dk
Source: https://howtofair.dk/
The Royal Danish Library
Status: Currently 8 agreements with scientific publishers on publishing with Open Access for corresponding authors at affiliated institutions.
Summary: The Royal Danish Library plays a pivotal role in the Open Access movement in Denmark, striving to make research publications freely available to all. It supports the national strategy and has entered into agreements with several scientific publishers to facilitate Open Access publishing for authors at affiliated institutions. Their Licensing Service plays a crucial role in facilitating access to a wide range of e-resources for higher education institutions in Denmark by negotiating license agreements with publishers worldwide, ensuring that Danish students, researchers, and teachers can access valuable scientific journals, databases, and electronic reference tools. These agreements are dynamic, updated annually, and are aligned with the calendar year, reflecting the evolving needs of the academic community.
DTU researchers can publish without fees in 55 hybrid and 21 golden IOP journals, with immediate Open Access and a standard CC-BY license. To qualify, authors must use their DTU email, state DTU as their affiliation, and choose Open Access with a Creative Commons license. Journals from The American Astronomical Society (AAS) are not included in this agreement. Publishing in AAS journals may require a publication fee for Open Access.
Contact info: Royal Library, kb@kb.dk
Source: https://pro.kb.dk/en/licensing/oa-publication-guidelines
The Danish Open Access Indicator
Status: Monitors progress on a yearly basis, showing annual statistics for Denmark and its individual universities.
Contact info: Hanne-Louise Kirkegaard, Senior Adviser, Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, hki@ufm.dk
Summary: The Danish Open Access Indicator is a significant initiative by the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science. It is designed to monitor and promote the implementation of the Danish Open Access Strategy from 2018 to 2025. The goal is to achieve 100% Open Access to all scholarly publications, which means that the results of research funded by the Danish government should be freely accessible to everyone. The Indicator provides an annual overview of the progress of Danish universities in making their research openly available. It categorizes publications into three types: Blocked (limited online accessibility), Unused (accessible after embargo), and Realised Open Access (freely accessible online). This transparent approach not only supports the dissemination of knowledge but also aligns with global trends towards more accessible academic work.
Source: https://oaindikator.dk/en/