OPUS Project Showcased at BEAMING Open Science Hybrid Clustering Event

• November 19, 2024

On 18 November 2024, the BEAMING Open Science Hybrid Clustering event brought together experts from various EU-funded projects to discuss advancements in Open Science practices. The event, held in Novi Sad, Serbia, featured presentations from key initiatives, including the OPUS project, which focuses on reforming research assessment to incentivise Open Science.

Gareth O’Neill, Principal Consultant on Open Science at Technopolis Group Belgium and a team member of OPUS, delivered a presentation on the project’s progress in developing a Researcher Assessment Framework (RAF). O’Neill highlighted OPUS’s guiding principles for researcher assessment, emphasising the framework’s adaptability across different countries, disciplines, and organisationsThe presentation showcased the OPUS RAF, which combines quantitative and qualitative metrics to evaluate researchers’ contributions to Open Science. O’Neill stressed the importance of distinguishing between processes, outputs, and outcomes in assessment, while allowing institutions flexibility in implementing the framework.Professor Saša Zelenika from the University of Rijeka (UNIRI) complemented O’Neill’s overview by presenting a detailed case study of UNIRI’s pilot implementation of the OPUS framework. The UNIRI pilot, involving 17 early-career researchers in law and social sciences, aims to integrate Open Science practices into research, education, and valorisation activities over an 18-month period.

The event’s agenda included presentations from other significant projects such as DIAMAS, OSTrails, TIER-2, and PATHOS, fostering a rich environment for knowledge exchange and collaboration. Participants engaged in panel discussions and Q&A sessions, exploring various aspects of Open Science implementation across European institutions.Professor Zelenika later remarked on the event, noting, “The participants showed great enthusiasm and eagerness to adopt Open Science practices, although some face challenges in their local settings.”

The BEAMING event served as a crucial platform for clustering Open Science initiatives, facilitating dialogue between projects, and showcasing best practices in research assessment reform. As the 

OPUS project continues its work towards its conclusion in August 2025, events like these play a significant role in disseminating findings and fostering broader adoption of Open Science principles across the European Research Area.