A changing research environment is affecting OS in structural ways. New opportunities for strategic coordination and cooperation.

The March 2026 CoNOSC Members Meeting focused on work conducted to understand how open science policymaking is being affected by a changing research environment, led by Jon Treadway. 

The following highlights some initial findings and discussions of the meeting:

Open science policy is entering a new phase. Recent insights shared by national open science (OS) policymakers across Europe, including Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Ukraine, point to a research environment that is evolving in structural, not temporary, ways. These shifts call for concerted, forward-looking responses that preserve the core values of open science while adapting to new realities.

Four trends are shaping this landscape: sovereignty, research security, generative AI, and research funding constraints. Each is challenging, but change here is also an opportunity to build new relationships and partnerships with other policy sectors that shape the research environment.

The strategic value of open science

A consistent message emerging from policymakers is the need to move beyond compliance-driven narratives. The value of open science today lies very much in how effectively it supports resilient, trustworthy, and high-performing research systems. Policymaking should reflect this evolution by articulating open science as a strategic asset.

Sovereignty and infrastructure: A shared responsibility

Concerns around academic sovereignty are increasingly centred on the ownership, governance, and sustainability of research infrastructure. Policymakers are asking practical questions: Who controls the systems underpinning research? How can we ensure their long-term viability?

·   Critical infrastructure should not rely on a single actor.

·   Governance models must enable durability and community oversight.

·   Sustainable funding mechanisms are essential to ensure continuity.

Efforts such as national rights retention strategies and increased international coordination signal that this work is already underway. The challenge now is to align and consolidate these approaches across Europe to ensure they reinforce a connected, open science ecosystem and avoid fragmentation.

Research security: Moving beyond binary thinking

Research security considerations are reshaping collaboration patterns and policy priorities. However, discussions often default to a simplistic “open vs. closed” framing. In practice, the landscape is more nuanced.

Effective policy should reflect a spectrum of openness:

·   Fully open where appropriate,

·   Restricted where necessary,

·   And clearly governed.

The principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary” continues to resonate as it provides this balance. It also provides a common language for engaging with policymakers outside the open science community, particularly in security and innovation domains.

Generative AI and funding pressures

Emerging technologies such as generative AI, alongside tighter funding environments, are adding further pressure. Yet both also reinforce the importance of open science: access to high-quality, well-governed research outputs and infrastructure becomes even more critical under these conditions.

Practical steps forward

To sustain momentum and ensure future-proof policymaking, several concrete actions stand out:

• Forge partnerships with research security, and innovation policymakers to align objectives, reduce bottlenecks and improve up-to-date and effective research coordination and support.
• Develop shared frameworks that integrate open science and research security considerations to support coherent implementation.
• Produce clear, concise guidance to support decision-making across sectors.

Concluding key insights

A central insight is that open science cannot operate in isolation. It requires strong alignment and relations with research security, innovation policy, science diplomacy, and other broader developments within the European Research Area. Engagement across these domains is not only necessary but mutually beneficial: Open Science already provides frameworks and practices that can strengthen these policy areas.

This is a moment to act: refining definitions where needed, building stronger alliances, and clearly articulating the value of open science through evidence. With targeted coordination and sustained focus, open science policy can continue to evolve as a central pillar of Europe’s research system.