Major funding boost for UK’s open research agenda

The University of Wolverhampton is proud to have joined a consortium of 18 universities – members of the UK Reproducibility Network – which has received significant funding to drive uptake of open research practices across the sector, furthering the UK’s position at the forefront of rigorous and reproducible research.

The project is worth £8.5M over five years and includes £4.5M from the Research England Development (RED) Fund.

Open research ensures transparency across the research lifecycle, promoting rigour, reproducibility, and public trust in research. The benefits of open research practices for improving the quality and integrity of research have been widely documented and are recognised by the UK Government R&D Roadmap as contributing to improving the culture of research.

The project represents a major strategic investment by Research England that is intended to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of the open research agenda and continues to generate globally leading research of the highest quality. It builds on the recent announcement by the Science Minister regarding UKRI’s new open access policy.

This funding will drive uptake of open research practices across the UK, through the delivery of training and evaluation of its impact. Initially the project will be delivered across institutions that are part of the UK Reproducibility Network. The network is expected to grow over the five years of the award, making training and material available more widely across the sector.

Professor Maria Uther, Head of Centre for Psychological Research at University of Wolverhampton and Institutional Lead for UKRN said: “Our University is delighted to join the UKRN consortium on this project. The development and promotion of Open Science practice is key to developing a more robust, transparent and inclusive research culture. This will only improve the quality and growth of research in a constructive way.”

Professor Marcus Munafò from the University of Bristol’s School of Psychological Science who chairs the UK Reproducibility Network Steering Group, said: “Open research practices – making as much of the research process available for re-use and scrutiny as possible – have the potential to accelerate the advancement of knowledge and improve the quality of the research we produce. This project will allow us to drive the uptake of open research practices across UK institutions and ensure this is done in a consistent and coordinated way. What is most exciting is that it represents a collaborative approach – multiple institutions working together to ensure the sector as a whole benefits.”

David Sweeney, Executive Chair of Research England, said: “We know that increasing the transparency of the research process supports higher standards of research integrity, and drives up the quality and reach of research. Research England has supported the UK Reproducibility Network since its inception. We are delighted to fund this project, which will enable the network to scale up its activities, and accelerate the uptake of open research practices across the sector.”