OPEN SCIENCE AS A PUBLIC POLICY: WHAT CHANGED IN 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62405/osiconf.2026.19Keywords:
open science; open access; FAIR data; research infrastructure; research information system; research assessment.Abstract
Purpose: to analyse the 2026 changes that turned open science in Ukraine from a declarative initiative into part of state research policy. Methods: legal analysis of regulatory acts, content analysis of the national research information system and its open analytical tools, and comparison with international and European approaches. Results: the concepts of open science, open access and research data optimised according to the FAIR principles have been defined in law; the national system has become a common source of verified data for competitions, attestation, funding and reporting; attestation results for 337 research institutions and 148 universities are open via interactive dashboards; a coordination body has been established and a research data repository is being built. Conclusions: the next stage is the transition from norms to practice through open science monitoring, institutional policies, data management plans and research assessment reform.
References
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (2022). On approval of the National Plan on Open Science (Order No. 892-r of October 8, 2022). https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/892-2022-%D1%80 [in Ukrainian]
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (2026). On amendments to the resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of January 14, 2025 No. 28 and of January 28, 2026 No. 116 (Resolution No. 940 of July 15, 2026). https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/940-2026-%D0%BF [in Ukrainian]
Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment. (2022). Agreement on reforming research assessment. https://coara.eu/agreement/the-agreement-full-text/
Hicks, D., Wouters, P., Waltman, L., de Rijcke, S., & Rafols, I. (2015). Bibliometrics: The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics. Nature, 520(7548), 429–431. https://doi.org/10.1038/520429a
Lindemann, T., & Häberlein, L. (2023). Contours of a research ethics and integrity perspective on open science. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, 8, 1052353. https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2023.1052353
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. (2025). On approval of the Regulation on conducting competitive selections of projects of fundamental research, applied research and scientific and technical (experimental) developments (Order No. 947 of June 30, 2025; registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on July 31, 2025, No. 1131/44537). https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z1131-25 [in Ukrainian]
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. (2026). On the establishment of the Coordination Council on Open Science (Order No. 720 of May 1, 2026). https://mon.gov.ua/npa/pro-utvorennia-koordynatsiinoi-rady-z-pytan-vidkrytoi-nauky [in Ukrainian]
Piwowar, H., Priem, J., Larivière, V., Alperin, J. P., Matthias, L., Norlander, B., Farley, A., West, J., & Haustein, S. (2018). The state of OA: A large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles. PeerJ, 6, e4375. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4375
San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment. (2012). San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment. https://sfdora.org/read/
State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine. (2026). Science data portal of the National Electronic Scientific Information System URIS. Retrieved 01.10.2026, from https://data.nauka.gov.ua/ [in Ukrainian]
Ukrainian Institute of Scientific and Technical Expertise and Information. (n.d.). National Repository of Academic Texts. https://nrat.ukrintei.ua/ [in Ukrainian]
UNESCO. (2021). UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. https://doi.org/10.54677/MNMH8546
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2026). On amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activity” regarding research infrastructure and support for young scientists (Law No. 4794-IX of February 25, 2026). https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4794-20 [in Ukrainian]
Wilkinson, M. D., Dumontier, M., Aalbersberg, I. J., Appleton, G., Axton, M., Baak, A., Blomberg, N., Boiten, J.-W., da Silva Santos, L. B., Bourne, P. E., Bouwman, J., Brookes, A. J., Clark, T., Crosas, M., Dillo, I., Dumon, O., Edmunds, S., Evelo, C. T., Finkers, R., … Mons, B. (2016). The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Scientific Data, 3, 160018. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18
Yaroshenko, T. O., Krasovskyi, O. S., & Holubiev, M. I. (2026). Forming the list of scientific professional journals of Ukraine in 2026: The cluster structure, open access criteria, and mechanisms for financial accessibility of publishing. Science and Science of Science, 3(133), 3–34. https://doi.org/10.15407/sofs2026.03.003 [in Ukrainian]
Zharinova, A. H., Zharinov, S. V., Humeniuk, S. S., & Rachynska, O. I. (2026). Implementing the automated verification of scientometric indicators: The case of official evaluation of Ukrainian research institutions in 2024–2025. Science and Science of Science, 3(133), 63–88. https://doi.org/10.15407/sofs2026.03.063 [in Ukrainian]
