A3.1.1 Develop a national open research training programme to enable researchers at all stages of their career, from early to late, as well as postgraduate students, to upskill in open research practices. This will include defining a core curriculum and adapting a standardised framework, such as FOSTER, to national needs. To maximise accessibility and impact, training will be delivered using Open Educational Practices (OEP).

Overview:

The aim of the project is to develop and pilot a national open research training programme to upskill researchers in the fundamentals of open research practices. TROPIC brings together researchers and librarians from across the Irish Higher education landscape, representing disciplines in science and engineering, social sciences and the humanities. As part of the project we will be surveying Irish researchers, librarians, and those involved in research support, on their awareness and engagement in open research practices.  Combining survey findings with expert views from our project partners, and discipline specific knowledge we will develop a curriculum that captures key open research concepts for researchers in an Irish context. We will develop a training programme that is adaptable to different disciplines and researcher career stages, promoting the development of core research values and equipping researchers with transferable competencies and skills, including: how to conduct and use research in a trustworthy, transparent, and ethical manner to the benefit of individuals, science and society; how to manage and use research outputs effectively, all aligned to best practice in open research. Following piloting of the training programme, a second phase of the project will create a network of open research trainers, and build a community of open research enthusiasts who can maintain, improve, and extend the available training materials, ensuring the longer term sustainability of the programme.

Resources and outputs: 

All project data, outputs and resources will be made available via our Open Science Framework Project Page: https://osf.io/chxgd/.

In recent years, the call for increased openness in research practices has become unmistakably clear (e.g., Nosek et al., 2015). The traditional approach to research has meant that our research is more often closed than open, with publications frequently behind paywalls, infrequent data sharing, and even where research data is available, it is often not fit for purpose. It is clear that researchers need to both increase their awareness and skills to be fully capable of working in a research culture that is moving towards “open as a default”. Through the NORF initiative, Ireland is rising to the occasion, acknowledging and embracing the need for greater transparency and collaboration in its research landscape. As part of this endeavour, the TROPIC project (TRaining for OPen research in an Irish Context) will create a national training program for researchers, librarians and those in research support roles in Ireland, centred on open science practices. This project will first equip practitioners with essential skills and values, fostering trust, transparency, and ethical conduct in their work. Guided by The Carpentries model – a community of instructors developing, organising, and maintaining knowledge on open research practices – we ensure
accessibility and adaptability on a national scale. Second, a “train-the-trainer” phase will extend the program’s reach, establishing a network of open research trainers to create a sustainable ecosystem for open research in Ireland.
Implementation will follow a series of steps beginning with needs assessment and gap analysis through surveys, interviews, and collaboration with our wide network of project partners, that will enable us to gather insights from experts across fields from STEM
research, social sciences and the humanities, and reflecting diverse disciplinary perspectives and incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. This will allow us to create and deliver a comprehensive program, tailored to the Irish research
landscape, that will upskill all participants in practical elements of Open Research. Once a draft curriculum and associated content is developed, we will pilot the program in the format of a summer school, delivered to researchers and potential future trainers to generate
participant feedback, and establish the aims of the future trainers’ network. Final steps will put the finishing touches on the program in response to feedback, documenting results, evaluations, and solutions, making all resources fully available, and pushing the programme
out to the wider research community by “training the trainers.” This phase establishes the Network of Open Research Trainers, and will go a long way to ensuring the growth and sustainability of our transformative program.
In our journey thus far, we’ve achieved significant milestones. A key highlight was the full-day workshop on Open Science Practices hosted at Maynooth University on September 22, 2023. This event not only facilitated meaningful connections, creating the seeds for our wider network, but also served as a forum for sharing experiences and brainstorming solutions to the challenges of moving to open research. Additionally, we initiated a comprehensive survey on awareness and engagement with open research practices among researchers, librarians, and research support roles in Ireland. Notably, our initial findings highlighted a gap between levels of awareness and engagement, showing that being aware of a practice is no guarantee of implementation. Such patterns underscore the need for a
training program grounded in practical skills to bridge this awareness-engagement gap. The final survey will also provide insights into researcher preferences for programme delivery and assessment.
In crafting a robust Open Research curriculum and standardised framework for Irish researchers, leveraging the expertise of our partners in open scholarship, digital publishing, and research integrity, the project promises a transformative impact on Irish research. Our outputs and resources, disseminated as Open Educational Resources (see e.g., our project page on the Open Sciencnoe Framework: https://osf.io/chxgd/), will upskill practitioners across career stages, while also fostering communication and collaboration to fill system-level gaps and promote collective benefit through open research principles. The creation of the Irish Network of Open Research Trainers is another tangible outcome, ensuring the longer-term sustainability of the program’s impact on a national scale. In tandem with this, our commitment extends to enhancing societal and academic awareness, aligning with the National Action Plan for Open Research. This project is a concrete step towards reform, driving a culture change in Irish research practices and solidifying Ireland’s position at the forefront of Open Research.

Reference: 
Nosek, B. A., Alter, G., Banks, G. C., Borsboom, D., Bowman, S. D., Breckler, S. J., … & Yarkoni, T. S. C. I. E. N. T. I. F. I. C. S. T. A. N. D. A. R. D. S. (2015). Promoting an open research culture. Science, 348(6242), 1422-1425.