The UvA is committed to making research information publicly available, as this promotes international collaboration, increases the societal impact of research, and makes research evaluations more transparent. 

What can be considered (open) research information? 

• Bibliographic data of publications, such as titles, abstracts, citations, and author information 
• Metadata about research software and research data 
• Information on funding and grants, for example from NWO or the ERC 
• Information on research organisations, such as universities, institutes, or research groups 

Goals of the Barcelona Declaration  

The Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information was published in 2024. By signing the declaration, the UvA joins a large number of other institutions and commits to the following goals: 

1. Make openness of research information the norm 
2. Work with services and systems that support and enable open research information 
3. Support the sustainability of open research information infrastructures, and 
4. Work together to achieve the transition from closed to open research information 

Call to commercial parties: make research information publicly available  

Currently, research evaluations and policymaking around research and international cooperation are often based on non-public information that is only available through commercial services. Examples include bibliographic databases such as Web of Science and Scopus, for which universities pay high licensing fees. University rankings such as the THE World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings are also commercial initiatives that make use of closed research information. The Declaration calls on commercial parties to make research information publicly available.  

What are the UvA and the Library already doing?  

The UvA will take action and make choices to contribute to sustainable, open infrastructures and services. The university’s Open Science Programme is expected to be adopted in November. The Library plays an important role in promoting Open Science:  

• Library staff participate in national and international working groups established in response to the Barcelona Declaration to help shape the transition to open research information in a responsible and well-considered way. 
• To support better and more transparent research evaluations, the Library promotes the use of open research information, such as OpenAlex, an open bibliographic database. 
• In addition, the Library is working to improve the registration of UvA publications in OpenAlex, in order to make our research more visible. 

Want to know more? Please contact the Library.