Sub-committee on Open Research

• Terms of reference: Remit and Purpose

  The rapidly evolving open research environment presents challenges and opportunities to the University and all our researchers and requires strategic and coordinated oversight.

  The Open Research Subcommittee will bring together researchers with knowledge or experience of open research practices, relevant professional service units (Library, Research and Innovation Services) and Principal’s Office (PO) to consider the University’s approach and policies relating to the evolving open research environment, ensuring benefit to our researchers, the University and wider society as well as delivering funder requirements.

  The subcommittee reports to the Research, Impact and Innovation Committee, and is tasked by that committee to:

  1. Contribute to and propose changes to open research policies when required.
  2. Oversee funds supporting open research.
  3. Monitor compliance with funder open access and open data requirements.
  4. Develop and oversee the implementation of an institutional open research roadmap.
  5. Discuss emerging challenges and opportunities in research data management and scholarly publishing.
  6. Propose and actively contribute to communications and outreach activities to support and encourage open research practices within their disciplines or schools, or both.

  The Open Research Subcommittee brings together the previously separate Open Research Working Group and Research Data Management Advisory Group. It works with other relevant groups, including the advisory and governance committees relating to Libraries and Museums, as needed and on topics with shared ownership or overlapping remit.

• Terms of reference: Reserved powers

  Oversight of Open Research roadmap, including input into prioritisation of actions.

• Action plan

  TBD

• Meeting frequency

  Fixed schedule:

  • Three times a year for an hour and thirty minutes each time.
  • Four to six weeks before each Research, Impact and Innovation Committee.

  In practice, this will usually mean that the Open Research Subcommittee meets in August, December and April each academic year.

• Core membership

  Core members will be expected to attend meetings and contribute to the remit of the Open Research Subcommittee. 

  Up to 12 academic members representing a range of disciplines. These should be staff who:

  • are active in research, able to comment on the remit of this group and willing to assist in consultation exercises with peers
  • are on any academic contract and on any grade, so that membership is representative of the research community
  • are selected to take account of staff levels in different disciplines, with the expectation for gender balance and representation of a variety of career stages, including at least one Early Career Researcher

  Ex-officio members of Principal's Office and Professional Services take up membership as part of existing service and administrative roles:

  • Libraries and Museums
    • University Librarian and Director of Collections and Museums (as Chair)
    • Head of Open Research Support (Open Access and Publishing) (Secretariat)
    • Head of Open Research Support (Research Data, Theses and Bibliometrics) (Secretariat)
    • Assistant Director, Library Systems and Digital Services, Libraries and Museums
    • Open Research Manager (Open Access and Publishing)
    • Open Research Manager (Research Data and Theses)
    • Administrative support from Libraries and Museums administrative staff
  • Research and Innovation Services
    • Executive Director, Research Support
    • One other representative nominated by the Executive Director, Research Support 

  Other representatives of professional services, such as IT Services, are invited to attend when relevant to agenda items.

• Past papers and minutes

  TBD

• Role descriptors: Chair, Academic Lead, Representative member

  TBD

• Process for recruitment of representative members

  Core academic members will be selected through an open call to Schools, seeking at least four members from each faculty (Arts, Divinity, Medicine, and Science) and preferably at least two from each of the following areas:

  • Medicine, health, and life sciences
  • Physical sciences and mathematics
  • Social sciences
  • Arts and humanities

  Given the recent recruitment process for academic members of the Open Research Working Group, and the potential wider pool of members of the previous Research Data Management Advisory Group, it is not anticipated that an open recruitment process will be needed during the initial period during which the new subcommittee is established.