Open Science: Foundations, Tools and Legal Framework

The principles of open science require that peer-reviewed scientific publications be immediately freely accessible, while research data must be managed in accordance with the FAIR principles and the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”.

What Open Science Is and Why It Matters

Modern scientific research is increasingly based on the principles of openness – both in terms of access to results and transparency of research procedures, as well as in encouraging collaboration. Open science therefore represents not merely a technical approach to publishing, but a broader shift in the culture of research work: from competition toward co-creation and from closed systems toward the sharing of knowledge.

The fundamental premise of open science is that the results of research funded by public resources must also be freely accessible to the public. This includes not only scientific publications, but also research data, methods, protocols and tools. In practice, this means open access to scientific works without subscription restrictions, transparency of research procedures, open sharing of software and hardware, and the promotion of data reuse.

At the same time, open science extends beyond the narrow academic sphere, as it promotes dialogue between the scientific community and the broader public and strengthens the role of scientific knowledge in societal decision-making. An important aspect is also the fair and transparent evaluation of research work, which is not based solely on quantitative indicators, but also takes into account the quality, openness and social impact of research.

At the European level, open science forms part of broader systemic changes in the scientific research environment and includes a set of policies, guidelines, recommendations, practices and technologies that define its fundamental principles. In Slovenia, this field is guided by ARIS, which supports the implementation of open science and its integration into research practice through guidelines and recommendations.

The fundamental principles of open science are:

• immediate and universal accessibility of scientific works resulting from publicly funded scientific research work (for example scientific publications or research data) on the internet without subscription restrictions;
• sharing and joint use of software, hardware and other equipment used by researchers in their work;
• transparency of scientific methods, protocols and experiments;
• enabling the reuse of research data;
• encouraging fair and transparent methods of evaluating research work;
• encouraging and promoting the connection of science with the public;
• promoting open science practices in other fields, such as education and culture;
• encouraging changes in the culture of research work toward cooperation among researchers and limiting competitiveness.

Open access represents one of the key pillars of modern scientific communication, as it enables unrestricted and simple access to research results. Its essence lies in the fact that scientific publications and other research outputs are freely accessible online, without financial or technical barriers for users, which significantly contributes to the broader reach of knowledge and its more effective use.

Such a publishing model does not only mean accessibility, but also broader usage rights. Content may be available for reading, downloading and sharing, and often also for further processing and use in new research or educational contexts, provided that the source is properly cited. The use of open licenses enables a clear definition of conditions of use and promotes responsible handling of scientific content.

By enabling the free circulation of knowledge, open access increases the visibility of research, strengthens collaboration among researchers and accelerates the transfer of scientific findings into the wider social environment. It thus contributes to a more inclusive and effective research environment in which results are accessible not only to the academic community, but also to other stakeholders.

From Access to Publication: How Open Publishing Works

ARIS defines open access as the free accessibility of the complete results of scientific research work on the internet, together with the appropriate management of copyright through open licenses. Such an approach enables users not only to access content, but also to further use it – including storing, reproducing, sharing, transmitting, publicly displaying and creating derivative works in various digital environments, while respecting the principles of responsible use. Open access to scientific publications therefore means that the text is freely accessible online, either on the publisher’s website or in institutional or thematic repositories. Authors generally retain material copyrights while granting the publisher the right to publish, whereas the conditions of use are determined by open licenses, most commonly Creative Commons licenses, defined either by the author or as part of the publisher’s policy.

Thus, open access publishing is based on the principle that a scientific article must be accessible without payment, registration or technical restrictions. However, open access goes beyond free reading, since such publications are equipped with licenses that allow their dissemination, reuse and further development. This means that users may copy, distribute, publicly display and use the content as a basis for further research or educational work, provided the source is properly cited.

In practice, two fundamental approaches to open publishing of scientific results have become established: the gold route and the green route. The gold route means publishing an article directly in an open access, peer-reviewed journal or on an open publishing platform (e.g. Open Research Europe), where articles are freely accessible immediately upon publication. Suitable journals can be found in the DOAJ directory. The gold route also includes publication in so-called transformative journals and in journals included in transformative agreements, where the costs of open publication are often covered through institutional or consortium agreements (e.g. by using vouchers).

The green route allows the author to simultaneously deposit an article published in a subscription journal into an institutional or thematic repository, thereby ensuring its open accessibility. In such cases, the author often transfers material copyrights to the publisher, but may still provide open access to the peer-reviewed version of the article in accordance with publisher policies or strategies such as the Rights Retention Strategy.

An important aspect of open publishing is also the use of open licenses (e.g. Creative Commons), which clearly define the conditions for use, sharing and reuse of scientific works and thereby enable broader accessibility and greater research impact.

Particular attention is required for hybrid journals, which operate on a subscription model but allow open access publication of individual articles against payment (APC – article processing charges). In practice, open publication in such journals is increasingly carried out through transformative agreements concluded by institutions or consortia with publishers and including various financing mechanisms, such as vouchers or contractually agreed quotas of open access publications.

Such a system enables a gradual transition from subscription-based models to open access scientific communication, while at the same time making it easier for researchers to fulfil funders’ requirements regarding immediate open accessibility of scientific results.

The Regulation on the Implementation of Scientific Research Work in Accordance with the Principles of Open Science (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 186/21 and 40/23) stipulates that the results of research financed from public resources in the Republic of Slovenia must be accessible in accordance with the principles of open science, while observing the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. Similarly, within the Horizon Europe programme, the European Commission requires immediate open access to scientific publications.

Eligible recipients of funding may fulfil this obligation in several ways, including:

• publication in open access (gold or diamond) journals that are fully freely accessible (e.g. journals included in the Directory of Open Access Journals – DOAJ),
• publication on open publishing platforms (e.g. Open Research Europe),
• or publication in subscription or hybrid journals while simultaneously ensuring open access (e.g. through repositories or transformative agreements).

The conditions for financing open access publications, especially in hybrid journals, vary depending on the rules of individual funders, with such costs often being limited or linked to transformative agreements concluded by institutions or consortia. In principle, open access costs in hybrid journals are not considered eligible expenses unless they are covered within the framework of transformative agreements concluded by institutions or consortia.

Research Data and Their Management

In addition to publications, research data are a key element of open science – records of facts in a wide variety of forms: from numbers and texts to audio recordings and images. They represent the foundation on which findings are based and at the same time an instrument for their verification (OECD, 2007). They are created through methods intended for discovery, hypothesis confirmation and drawing conclusions (Open Science Dictionary, 2026).

Responsible data management today means following the FAIR principles: data must be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. These principles are not merely recommendations – they are becoming a standard required by funders.

A practical tool for implementing these principles is the Data Management Plan (DMP), which should ideally be prepared before the beginning of the research. Legislation requires it as an obligation for publicly funded projects (at least 50% public funding): project implementers must prepare and regularly update the DMP. For this purpose, ARIS has established an online form, and an automated assistant for preparation is also available.

For practical support, the following resources are available:

• Handbook on Planning Research Data Management (2025)
• Discover FAIR (2024)
• Research Data Management Plan – ARIS form
• Assistant for Preparing a DMP – ARIS
• Horizon Europe DMP Template and Slovenian translation (CTK)
• ERC Data Management Plan Template
• DCC Template and DMPonline
  
  

Legal Foundations in the Slovenian and European Context

Openness in science is not only an ethical principle – in Slovenia and across Europe it is increasingly becoming a legal obligation.

The Scientific Research and Innovation Activity Act (ZZrID) introduces the principles of open science into the systemic framework: the results of publicly funded research must, as a rule, be accessible in open access wherever feasible. In doing so, the Act takes into account the limitations imposed by personal data protection, copyright and other legal restrictions.

A more operational level is regulated by the Regulation on the Implementation of Scientific Research Work in Accordance with the Principles of Open Science (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 186/21 and 40/23). This regulation specifies obligations: projects with 50% or more public funding must ensure open access to publications and prepare a DMP. The regulation also contains transitional provisions with certain specific exceptions.

The Slovenian framework is complemented and harmonised by the European framework – particularly the requirements of the Horizon Europe programme, which also requires immediate open publication and data management in accordance with the FAIR principles.

In addition to the Act and the Regulation, the following are also relevant:

• Resolution on the Scientific Research and Innovation Strategy of Slovenia 2030 – ReZrIS30 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 49/22)
• Action Plan for Open Science (Government of the Republic of Slovenia, 31 May 2023)
• Recommendations for the Implementation of Open Science – Horizon Europe Guidelines
• Open Science Monitor
  
  

Where to Store and Publish: An Overview of Repositories

Trusted repositories are digital environments for the secure, long-term storage and public accessibility of research results – from publications and data to software code and multimedia. When choosing a repository, it is advisable to follow a hierarchy: first a disciplinary repository (if available), then an institutional repository, and finally a general international repository. The quality of a repository can be verified through directories such as re3data, OpenDOAR or ROAR; for data repositories, the CoreTrustSeal certificate is a reliable indicator.

In Slovenia:

Read: Criteria for Defining Trusted Repositories and List of Recommended Repositories

Some Slovenian disciplinary repositories:

• ADP – Social Science Data Archives
• SI Repository

Some Slovenian institutional repositories:

• DiRROS and DiRROS Data
• Repository of the University of Ljubljana (RUL), DKUM, RUP

Open publishing platforms:

• Open Research Europe (ORE) https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/

International repositories: EOSC, Zenodo · Figshare · Dryad · Harvard Dataverse · OSF

Searching for a suitable repository: re3data · OpenDOAR

Useful Links for Researchers

• website with a list of open access journals: https://doaj.org/
• website with a list of open access books: https://www.doabooks.org/
  
  

Open Access Policies and Important Open Science Links

• Horizon Europe
• OpenAIRE
• Science Europe (Open Access to Scientific Publications)
• ERC Projects (European Research Council)
• CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment)
  
  

How EMUNI Implements the Principles of Open Science

EMUNI University implements the principles of open science through participation in national and international initiatives for open access to scientific resources and research results. The University is included in the Springer Nature Link consortium under the coordination of the Central Technical Library of the University of Ljubljana (CTK), which enables researchers to access scientific literature and publish scientific articles in open access. EMUNI promotes responsible management of research data, open accessibility of research results, the use of institutional and open repositories, and compliance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). As part of the development of the Research Data Management Plan, the University is also strengthening researchers’ awareness of the importance of open science, research transparency and the long-term accessibility of research results.

An important example of the implementation of open science principles at EMUNI University is also the International Journal of Euro-Mediterranean Studies (IJEMS), an international peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of Euro-Mediterranean studies. The journal operates according to the open access principle, meaning that all articles are freely accessible to authors and readers without payment. The purpose of the journal is to encourage research into current and historical issues of the Euro-Mediterranean area and to contribute to the development of scientific capital and intercultural understanding among researchers. The journal publishes contributions from various scientific disciplines and methodological approaches addressing contemporary challenges and the development of the region. In addition to the electronic open access edition, 200 printed copies of each issue are also published. The International Journal of Euro-Mediterranean Studies (IJEMS) is co-financed by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS), which supports the publication of the scientific journal and thereby contributes to the development of open science and the accessibility of high-quality scientific publications. The journal is published under ISSN 1855-3362 (print edition) and ISSN 2232-6022 (online edition).

For more detailed instructions regarding the fulfilment of open science obligations, the EMUNI Research Data Management Plan is available.