Open Science
Lero is fully committed to the principles and practices of Open Science and has established an Open Source Programme Office and published an Open Science Charter.
Lero’s Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) promotes engagement between Lero members, stakeholders and promotes interaction with the Open Source Software (OSS) community. Lero-OSPO provides an Open Source roadmap and helps its members and partners understand how we deal with Open Source in our day-to-day activities.
Lero’s Open Science Charter
Open Science practices that optimise access to research are integral to Lero. Lero adopts a comprehensive strategy towards Open Science which will lead to increased visibility for researchers, greater opportunities for collaboration, and greater transparency in the research process.
The Lero Open Science Committee was formed in 2022 to develop Lero-wide strategies that lead to increased visibility for researchers, greater opportunities for collaboration, and greater transparency in the research process. The Lero Open Science Committee won the 2022 YERUN Open Science Award. YERUN is the Young European Research Universities Network and was founded in 2015 to bring together like-minded young research universities in Europe. At the awards ceremony in March 2023, the judging panel stated that “The Lero Open Science Committee exemplifies the transformative potential of strategic initiatives in fostering transparency and collaboration within research communities. Furthermore, the committee’s commitment to open science principles continues to inspire positive change, both within the center and beyond.”
Keep an eye on our ‘Open Science calendar of events’ for upcoming training sessions, keynote lectures and workshops in Open Science.
Open Science Projects – nationally funded
TROPIC
Training for Open Research in an Irish Context (TROPIC) was funded under the National Open Research Forum (NORF) 2022 Open Research Fund supported by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to advance the National Action Plan for Open Research 2022–2030.
Host Institution: Maynooth University, Ireland
Lead Applicant: Dr Dermot Lynott with 35 project affiliates from across the Irish Higher Education sector. TROPIC involved 11 Irish universities.
Timeframe: 2022-2023
Website: https://norf.ie/national-open-research-training-programme/
TROPIC brought together researchers and librarians across eleven higher education institutions, representing disciplines including science and engineering, social sciences and the humanities, in a consortium with expertise in the provision of research support and training. A national open research training programme was developed to enable researchers at all stages of their career to upskill in open research practices, strengthening Ireland’s open research ecosystem in a sustainable way.
All project data, outputs and resources are available via the Open Science Framework Project Page: https://osf.io/chxgd/.
TROPIC II Project
The Training for Open Research in an Irish Context II project (TROPIC II) was funded under the National Open Research Forum (NORF) 2025 Open Research Fund supported by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to advance the National Action Plan for Open Research 2022–2030.
Host Institution: Maynooth University, Ireland
Lead Applicant: Dr Dermot Lynott with project affiliates from across the Irish Higher Education sector.
Timeframe: 2025-2026
Website: https://irishrn.org/
The TROPIC II project is concerned with extending and delivering the TROPIC training programme for open research, and to help develop and coordinate a national network of open researchers in Ireland. TROPIC II has founded and launched the Irish Reproducibility Network (IRN) and the project will endeavour to expand the IRN to include all Irish research institutions. The IRN was formally launched in Lero in January 2026 and you can read all about the launch here https://lero.ie/lero-launches-the-irish-reproducibility-network/
As well as creating an accreditation pathway for TROPIC participants the network aims to advance Ireland’s capacity for sustainable, high-quality open research training and support the long-term process of research culture change in Ireland.