November 15, 2021

The YERUN Open Science Awards have been unlocked! Apply by 14.12.2021

Are you a researcher or a staff member from a YERUN partner university and have you/your team initiated an activity on Open Science at your institution? Then, don’t miss the opportunity to apply for the brand new YERUN Open Science awards! 

The YERUN Open Science Awards are aimed at encouraging and rewarding Open Science initiatives across the YERUN network. We are excited to see applications that demonstrate and/or support the practice of varying aspects of Open Science, such as: FAIR and open data, Open Access publishing, recognition and rewards, public engagement, citizen science, open education, open science skills development, etc.   

The awards target initiatives that support the scholarly community to adopt and implement Open Science principles in their work, and that are implemented by the following categories:  

  1. Researchers (teams or individuals) 
  2. Administrative staff or professional services (teams or individuals). 

One initiative under each category will be selected and awarded as an inspiring practice in its field(s) that serves as an example for others in implementing Open Science. 

Winners will bring in a monetary award to their institution/department (5,000€ for each award – 2 awards per year), which will be used to further advance the existing initiative or implement a new initiative on Open Science. 

The two award-winning initiatives will be invited to showcase their work at an event organised by YERUN. All other eligible initiatives will be showcased in a dedicated space on the YERUN website and newsletter. 

Eligibility

In order to apply for the YERUN Open Science Awards, at the time of the application the applying individual or team should be either: 

  • A researcher / a team of researchers from one of the YERUN Universities. Researchers in any discipline are eligible. Researchers from non-YERUN Universities are not eligible.  

or 

  • An administrative or professional support staff member / a staff team from one of the YERUN Universities. Staff from non-YERUN Universities are not eligible.   

At the time of applying, initiatives should be beyond the stage of planning and implementation; in other words, the initiative should be up and running at the time of application. Applicants are also asked to indicate in their application how they would use the award were they to receive it, in order to further foster Open Science behaviours and initiatives.  

How to Apply

The application form for the YERUN Open Science Awards should be filled out directly by an individual involved in the initiative. If you know of some colleagues who could be good candidates, don’t hesitate to share the information with them! Alternatively, indicate their email address via this link and the YERUN Office will get in touch with them directly. 

If you are interested in applying, please read the call and apply via the dedicated online application platform. The deadline for applications is on 14 December 2021 at 23:59 CET.

We encourage the submission of inspiring and innovative practices that contribute to raising awareness on Open Science, to building a community of practice about Open Science and to contribute to the university’s overall Open Science culture.  

Applicants are requested to submit a case study between 1,000 and 1,600 words. Entries must be submitted using the online application system

Applications should cover the following points as appropriate:  

1) Description: What is the Open Science practice/initiative about? (max. 400 words) 

  • Introduction: short overview of the initiative. What are the main activities organised? Who are the target groups? What are the key objectives? 
  • Context in which the initiative was implemented: Why did you develop this initiative? Could you elaborate shortly on the rationale behind it? 
  • Open Science objectives the practice/initiative aims to achieve* 
  • Obstacles and solutions: What barriers or challenges were encountered, and how were they handled? 

2Outputs: What has the initiative achieved so far? (max. 400 words) 

  • Benefits: What benefits were realised, and for whom, as a result of implementing the initiative? 
  • Lessons learnt: what has the practice showed that you did not know before? 

3) FAIR: How Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reproducible is the practice? (max. 400 words) 

  • What are the steps/actions you have done /are doing to make the initiative available to others? 
  • Is the practice, its structure and outputs, easily findable online?  
  • Can the practice be replicated in other departments or institutions?   

4) Follow-up: How do you intend to use the award? (max. 400 words) 

  • How would this award support you / your team in taking forward your current initiative, or would you like to initiate a new project  with the financial resources from the award? 

* Activities and initiatives should align with one or more of the following Open Science objectives: 

  • Making the outputs of research, including publications, data, software and other research materials freely accessible. 
  • Using online tools and services to increase the transparency of research processes and methodologies. 
  • Raising awareness on Open Science by events, programmes, educational and training tools, etc. 
  • Making scientific research more reproducible by increasing the amount and quality of information placed on the public record. 
  • Using alternative models of publication and peer review to make the dissemination and certification of research faster and more transparent. 
  • Using open collaborative methods and tools to increase efficiency and widen participation in research.

Evaluation

Applications will be reviewed by an evaluation team comprising representatives from YERUN institutions. The evaluation process will consist of two phases. In the first phase, each application will be reviewed by two evaluators from YERUN institutions other than the one of the applicants. In the second phase, the applications passing the threshold will be reviewed by a final evaluation panel. 

We look forward to receiving your applications and to discovering many exciting Open Science initiatives across YERUN!

For any enquiries, please contact the YERUN Secretary General, Ms. Silvia Gomez Recio: secretarygeneral@yerun.eu