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Within the project "SPOZNAJ - Support for the Implementation of Open Science Principles in Slovenia", under the coordination of the Central Technical Library of the University of Ljubljana and in cooperation with 20 Slovenian public research institutions, we will adapt our activities in accordance with the Scientific Research and Innovation Activity Act, the Decree on the Implementation of Scientific Research in Accordance with Open Science Principles and with the practices and principles of open science in the European Research Area. Open science includes open access to research results, the evaluation of the quality and impact of scientific research using responsible metrics and the involvement of citizens in scientific research. The project is co-financed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and the European Union - NextGenerationEU through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. 

Consortium members: 

• Central Technical Library at the University of Ljubljana as project coordinator, 

• Geological Survey of Slovenia, 

• Slovenian Forestry Institute, 

• Institute for Hydraulic Research, Ljubljana, 

• "Jožef Stefan" Institute, 

• Institute for Ethnic Studies, 

• Institute of Contemporary History, 

• National Institute of Chemistry, 

• Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, 

• National Institute of Biology, 

• Educational Research Institute, 

• Rudolfovo - Science and Technology Centre Novo mesto, 

• Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, 

• Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, 

• Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 

• Science and Innovation Centre Pomurje, 

• Science and Research Centre Koper, 

• Faculty of Information Studies Novo mesto, 

• University of Ljubljana (one of the workpackages is led by the Social Science Data Archives), 

• University of Maribor (one of the workpackages is led by the University of Maribor library) Maribor), and 

• University of Primorska. 

The aim of the project is to raise awareness, train and equip the staff of the consortium partners with the appropriate knowledge and skills in the field of open science, produce educational materials, create support structures and adapt the operational mechanisms of the partners in line with the principles of open science. In addition to the partners, the project will also address other key stakeholders in the field of scientific research, such as private research and higher education institutions, private researchers, public agencies (ARIS, NAKVIS), other public organisations (e.g. Arnes, libraries), companies and other interested parties. 

By the end of the project in June 2026, the consortium will have held at least 30 public lectures on relevant topics in the field of open science and 4 national events with international participation. It will define the profiles of supporting experts in the field of open science and research data management and create a catalogue of their competences. It will run a series of specialised training courses and set up support structures at individual institutions. Educational materials for working according to the principles of open science with a focus on research data management will be produced both online and in printed form. Existing laws and processes at the partner institutions will be evaluated, proposals for formal foundations for working according to the principles of open science will be developed and pilot adaptations will be carried out. Awareness of the importance of open science will be spread as widely as possible both among experts and the general public. 

The project is part of broader European developments in the field of open science. The European Union has identified open science as one of the key actions of the Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe for the period 2022-2024  and has also legislated it in law with the revised Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 20, 2019, on open data and the reuse of public sector information. Slovenia has adapted to the new European directives by adopting the Scientific Research and Innovation Activity Actin 2021, the Resolution on the Slovenian Scientific Research and Innovation Strategy 2030 in 2022 and the Decree on the Implementation of Scientific Research in Accordance with Open Science Principles and the Action Plan for Open Science in 2023. 

Through these legal acts, a commitment is made by public research institutions to ensure open access to research results, conduct responsible evaluation of research work, and promote the implementation of citizen science.