The National Open Research Forum (NORF) is working to articulate a national coordinated agenda for Open Science in Ireland and to ensure Ireland’s approach is in line with EU good practice.  NORF is co-chaired by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Health Research Board (HRB) with secretariat from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS). It is coordinated by the National Open Research Coordinator, based at the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI).

The National Action Plan for Open Research was launched on the 21 November 2022 which outlines the objectives and actions for the next chapter in Ireland’s transition towards open research. The process of developing this National Action Plan has been led by NORF, combining the expertise of representatives from policy, research funding, research performing, the library sector, research infrastructures, enterprise and other key stakeholders in the research system across Ireland. Implementation of the National Action Plan for Open Research will be overseen by NORF and delivered under Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy with the support of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Periodic reviews of the National Action Plan will be conducted every three years to review progress made and release updates with further actions.

The National Action Plan for Open Research serves as a roadmap for the implementation of open research across Ireland and is structured according to three broad themes:

• Establishing a culture of open research
• Achieving 100% open access to research publications
• Enabling FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) research data and other outputs

The launch event included introductory remarks by NORF Co-Chair Tim Conlon (Higher Education Authority), a summary of the National Action Plan by Dr Daniel Bangert, Ireland’s National Open Research Coordinator, and presentations from six projects funded by NORF to deliver priority actions for 2022-2024. 

On the 2 March 2023, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, announced funding of €1.9 million to support the uptake and implementation of the National Action Plan for Open Research. This funding was provided through the Higher Education Authority. Following this, NORF launched the 2023 Open Research Fund call to continue to support open research development in Ireland and promote the themes of the National Action Plan for Open Research. 

Another strong promoter of Open Research in Ireland is the Health Research Board. The HRB Open Research is a platform for HRB-funded researchers to rapidly publish their research outputs in an open and accessible way. All articles benefit from immediate publication, transparent refereeing and the inclusion of all source data. This is a pilot exercise to explore a new way of publishing. The HEA is represented on the Steering Group for this initiative.