Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, has been awarded a European prize recognising its commitment to open science principles. The centre launched its Open Science Charter and an Open Source and Open Science Programme Office last October.

The Young European Research Universities Open Science Awards were announced on February 14 at an online ceremony. This is the second year of the awards which recognise Open Science initiatives, of different kinds, across the YERUN network.  

“We are very happy to be acknowledged by the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN) for our work in this area. Lero is committed to Ireland’s goal of ensuring that all scholarly publications resulting from publicly-funded research are openly available. In creating an Open Science Charter and developing an Open Source and Open Science Programme Office (OSPO), Lero is demonstrating our commitment to the principles of Open Science. The Lero OSPO is an important strategic division of Lero with the goal of building an Open Source roadmap for Lero and helping our members and partners understand how Lero deals with Open Source in its day-to-day activities. It is also an important step in executing Lero’s Open Science policy,” said Professor Brian Fitzgerald, Director of Lero and Professor at University of Limerick.

Lero’s Open Science Charter promotes making research openly available to all. The new charter will lead to increased visibility for researchers, greater opportunities for collaboration, and greater transparency in the research process.

Speaking after the announcement, Lero’s International Funding Manager Dr Martina Prendergast said: “Lero’s Open Science Charter was the first to be published by an SFI research centre, and is openly shared on the Lero website for anyone to use and adapt to the needs of their own organisation. The charter is formulated in line with the EU's Open Science policy and identifies several ambitions for the centre’s research community. We would love to see other organisations using it as a blueprint to develop their own open science practices.”