University of Maribor Open Science Policy

On 28 October 2025, at its 26th regular session, the Senate of the University of Maribor adopted the Decision No. 030-10/2025/10/515-MP confirming the University of Maribor Open Science Policy (UM OS Policy).

1. Purpose and Objective

The University of Maribor (UM) is a scientific and the highest educational institution with a specific position, fulfilling its mission in accordance with the principles of a sustainable and socially responsible institution at the international, national, and regional levels. UM operates under the principles of autonomy, which ensure freedom of research, dissemination of knowledge and artistic creation, independent regulation of its organization and functioning, development and adoption of study and scientific research programmes, and determination of the manner of their implementation in line with the principles of open science as defined by the UM Statute.

In accordance with national legislation and international guidelines, UM, as a public research organization, bears responsibility for promoting a collaborative, inclusive, and transparent research environment by expanding open access to scientific knowledge, enabling the reuse of scientific findings, and increasing scientific collaboration and data sharing for the benefit of science and society. It strives for open processes of creating scientific knowledge, evaluation, and communication with stakeholders within and beyond traditional scientific communities in a responsible manner, with the goals of ensuring equal access to scientific knowledge and increasing the impact of research conducted at UM as broadly as possible.

The purpose of UM OS Policy is to provide an overarching framework for UM’s activities based on the principles of open science in the field of scientific research in connection with the educational process by promoting open practices that combine open access to research results, including open access publishing and open publishing models, as well as open research data; open research infrastructure; open educational resources; open research methodology; evaluation of the quality and impact of scientific research using responsible metrics; and the inclusion of the interested public in scientific research (citizen science).

All terms written in masculine form are hereinafter used as a neutral form referring equally to both genders.

2. Validity, Responsibility, Rights and Duties

UM OS Policy applies to all higher education teachers, academic staff, researchers, and students (hereinafter referred to as stakeholders) operating within UM. If scientific research work is co-financed by a third party with a share of more than 50%, any agreement with that party concerning access rights, deposit and storage takes precedence over this Policy.

Responsibility of UM

a. Support and enable the transition to operating under the principles of open science through education, training, and awareness-raising targeted at stakeholders, together with providing the necessary infrastructure and funding to support this transition.
b. Monitor and update the compliance of institutional policies and other regulatory acts with national legislation and international guidelines. Prepare and adopt new regulatory acts as needed.
c. Prepare transparent content and financial reports on the implementation of open science principles at UM and participate in national and international initiatives, working groups, and consortia with the aim of engaging in discussions, developing joint solutions, highlighting challenges, and proposing measures to mitigate potential negative consequences of implementing open science principles at the institutional level.
d. Create and maintain an appropriate support environment for UM’s operation under open science principles, integrated and coordinated at the UM Rectorate (Department for Research and Arts) in cooperation with the University of Maribor Library (UM UKM) for all UM members.
e. Maintain the institutional repository and cooperate with other domain-specific and multi-purpose data centres for research results in accordance with applicable national regulations, which contain digital content and provide advanced tools for searching and open access to content.
f. Develop and provide mechanisms and services for storing, safeguarding, registering, depositing, and sharing data and other research results in line with open science principles and provide appropriate guidelines to stakeholders, including templates for research data management plans (RDMPs) .
g. Establish and maintain an organizational structure for data stewardship by appointing a coordinator responsible for all data-related matters, including but not limited to issues concerning the development of RDMPs and compliance with national and European legislation, as well as data care and preservation.
h. Promote open science practices in the evaluation of the quality and impact of scientific research using responsible metrics, which, in addition to advocating for open access to publications and data, also support other practices such as participation in citizen science projects and their integration into research work, participation in open peer review processes, or the use of Open Educational Resources (OER).
i. Guidance on the use of persistent identifiers (such as ORCID , DOI , HNDL ).
j. UM members are responsible for establishing clear mechanism that are known in advance for functioning and collaborating under the principles of open science in accordance with UM OS Policy provisions, appropriately adapted to their scientific research fields.

Rights and duties of stakeholders

a. Adherence to the UM Code of Ethical Conduct and the eight principles (honesty in communication, reliability in research execution, objectivity, impartiality and independence, openness and accessibility, duty of care, fairness in citation and attribution, and responsibility toward future scientists and researchers) as defined in the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity by the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the All European Academies (ALLEA).
b. Familiarization with and compliance with institutional guidelines, policies, and other regulatory documents related to open science (Annex 1), which are aligned with national legislation and follow international standards in their mandatory parts.
c. Use of the institutional repository and other infrastructures that support operation according to open science principles.
d. Use of the Instructions for Indicating Affiliation at UM.
e. Identification and indication of research infrastructure used in research work.
f. Participation in online trainings on open science.

3. Principles and Values

Open science is a research approach based on openness and collaboration, emphasizing the earliest and widest possible sharing of knowledge, results, and tools . In accordance with European guidelines and national legislation, scientific research activity is based on the principles of open science, which particularly include open access under the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary” to all research results.

Open research results must be published or otherwise made available in a way that ensures their findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability according to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable).

The core values of open science, in line with UNESCO Recommendations, are quality and integrity, collective benefit, equity and fairness, and diversity and inclusiveness, which permeate the following guiding principles for creating conditions and practices of open science: transparency, scrutiny, critique and reproducibility, equality of opportunities, responsibility, respect and accountability, collaboration, participation and inclusion, flexibility, and sustainability.

4. Areas of Application of Open Practices

UM supports, promotes, and creates conditions for conducting scientific research activities in accordance with the principles of open science, which include open access, meaning free access to the full content of digital objects located within the university infrastructure, with copyright regulated according to the chosen license and considering limitations and exceptions to full open access, as well as the use and sharing of open research infrastructure and other forms of open-access operation.

Specific areas of open practices at UM are further defined in separate regulatory documents listed in Annex 1.

Open access to research results

UM supports and encourages early sharing of research results and systematically introduces conditions for open access to UM research outputs, such as scientific publications (e.g., scientific articles published in journals and on scholarly publishing platforms), scientific monographs and other types of peer-reviewed publications, research data, software developed as a result of research, and other types of research results in digital form.

UM requires stakeholders to adhere to the following open access practices for research results, in accordance with national legislation and recommended practices of the European Research Area, when research results are at least 50% co-financed from public funds:

a. As soon as possible (or, in the case of a scientific publication, no later than upon its publication), the research result (or, in the case of a scientific publication, a machine-readable digital version of the published version of record (VoR) or the accepted author manuscript (AAM)) must be deposited in the institutional repository with immediate open access enabled and with a cited persistent identifier (PID) .
b. For storage under the conditions of point (a), a trusted repository other than the institutional repository may also be selected, preferably a national or international domain-specific repository and secondarily a multi-purpose repository. When selecting a repository, the Criteria for Defining Trusted Repositories set by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS) must be followed .
c. When research activities are expected to produce research results in the form of research data or other outputs related to completed research content (e.g., research projects, research programmes, infrastructure activities, etc.), an RDMP must be prepared and regularly updated.
d. Handling research data and other research results must follow FAIR principles.
e. Access to research data and other research results must follow the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary.”
f. Any exceptions to full open access to research results must be justified in the RDMP.
g. Research data and other research results must be accompanied by metadata, including metadata about tools and instruments necessary for validating and reusing research data. Metadata must consider the specifics of scientific fields. Metadata that ensure findability of data must be available in all cases.
h. Research data must be assigned a PID where possible and linked to associated publications.
i. Unreviewed versions of scientific publications (preprints) must be published in the UM preprint repository (UM Preprints) under a permitted open license, in accordance with publisher policies.
j. Research results produced before the UM OS Policy came into effect should also be stored in the institutional repository as publicly accessible, where possible.

Copyright and license

Copyright on scientific publications, research data, or other research results may only be transferred by the author or by UM (when copyrights have been assigned to them) to third parties on a non-exclusive basis.

Scientific publications, research data, and other research results, along with their metadata, when subject to copyright, related rights, or other author rights, must be published under an open license in accordance with the Decree on the Implementation of Scientific Research Work in accordance with the Principles of Open Science.

Open research infrastructure

UM strives to establish research infrastructure that enables open access to digital objects, their exchange, and the use of open-source software and open standards. Open access to research infrastructure was regulated by the Open Access Policy for Research Infrastructure adopted in 2020.
UM has already established open-access infrastructure through the UM Digital Library (DKUM), which provides an environment for implementing open access to scientific research, professional, and other works, as well as research data generated at the university during research and educational processes. Part of DKUM is the institutional preprint repository UM Preprints, which ensures long-term preservation and protection of scientific preprints in a trusted environment.

The digital repository of UKM is a repository for reviewing digitised material from the UM UKM stock with the emphasis on open access to the valuable written cultural heritage that is kept and recently intensively digitised by UM UKM.

UM has developed and implemented the online platform Database for research infrastructure UM (BRiUM) for reviewing, connecting, sharing, reserving, and reporting research infrastructure, with a focus on research equipment under open access conditions.

As part of the pilot project RRP – With Open Access to Lifelong Learning, co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and the European Union – NextGenerationEU, UM launched the online learning repository Skriptarnica, which provides access to university textbooks, other learning materials, open educational resources, and other information resources to support the study process.

UM also runs the University Press of UM, which serves as infrastructure for publishing research results, textbooks, and other educational materials in open access by UM authors. The Press also provides infrastructure for publishing scientific and professional journals issued by UM members. Its development is oriented toward ensuring diamond open access, which is already implemented for scientific and professional journals published at UM.

Open educational resources

UM promotes and establishes conditions for open access to educational resources (OER), such as UM’s teaching, educational, and research materials. OER are published under an open license that enables free access, reuse, adaptation, and redistribution by others.

To support this, UM UKM has developed the online platform Skriptarnica, which follows UNESCO recommendations for:

a. Building capacity of stakeholders to create, access, re-use, adapt and redistribute OER.
b. Developing supportive policy.
c. Encouraging inclusive and equitable quality OER.
d. Nurturing the creation of sustainability models for OER.
e. Facilitating international cooperation.

Open research methodology

UM supports transparent and publicly accessible documentation of the scientific process (e.g., through preregistration, laboratory protocols, etc.), as well as the publication or at least disclosure of hardware and software used (e.g., research equipment) ...

Data stewardship

As part of establishing data stewardship, UM and UKM have developed an organizational structure for data stewardship at UM, aimed at providing support services to stakeholders for managing research data and infrastructure throughout the entire data life cycle.
The organizational structure includes the following roles:

a. Strategy/Policy Designer at UM.
b. Data Stewardship Coordinator.
c. Data Advisor/Data Librarian.
d. Data Steward.
e. Application Development and Legal/Technical Support Specialist for research data management.

A key goal of this structure is to develop a network of data stewards who perform operational tasks related to research data management directly within university members. At this stage, advisory services become more discipline-specific. These data stewards may be part of a university member’s organizational structure, members of research groups, or positioned in libraries. Coordination of the data steward network is carried out by UKM.

Participants in the network of data stewards and advisors must demonstrate, in addition to professional knowledge acquired through systematic training, methodological skills (project management, moderation techniques, creativity techniques, problem-solving techniques, conflict management), social skills (teamwork, communication skills, respecting the culture of dialogue, user orientation, leadership, motivational abilities), and personal qualities such as perseverance, results orientation, adaptability, innovation, diligence, initiative, and independence. To this end, UM has formalized appropriate job positions within UM members.

UM also supports and fosters the development of knowledge and skills of other staff involved in data advisory services, application development, and legal and technical support for research data management.

5. Evaluating the Quality and Impact of Scientific Research Using Responsible Metrics

UM encourages researchers and other stakeholders to engage in responsible research practices and supports evaluation methods that promote high-quality science and recognize the diversity of research outputs, activities, and missions, in line with national legislation and the guidelines of the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area.

UM advocates for the assessment of the substantive achievements of scientific research work rather than the place of publication or its impact factor (or other journal metrics) or publisher. In addition to scientific publications, UM supports the consideration of other types of research outputs (e.g., research data and developed research software) and other open science practices (e.g., early and open sharing of research results, participation in open peer review processes, involvement of citizens, civil society, and end-users in research, etc.), as well as open-access research results.

Beyond the quantity of research results, UM primarily promotes the evaluation of their quality, acknowledges the diversity of disciplines requiring different approaches to open science, and supports assessment criteria that take into account different research career stages, especially early-stage research.

For individual or institutional evaluation of research results by UM and its members, UM encourages the consideration of publications the metadata and full texts of which are stored in the institutional repository in accordance with the above requirements. In 2024, UM adopted a recommendation encouraging stakeholders to establish the permanent digital identifier ORCID iD to improve the visibility of individual’s research outputs.

In accordance with the provisions of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (NAKVIS) regarding minimum standards for academic title appointments, UM has adapted its internal Criteria for the Appointment to Titles of Higher Education Teachers and Associates.
To strengthen the principles of quality research assessment, UM signed the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) in 2019 and, since 2022, has been implementing the shared vision of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) to improve the evaluation of research, researchers, and research organizations and to enhance the quality and impact of research.

6. Involving the Interested Public in Scientific Research Activities

UM supports the development of collaborative approaches to research whenever possible by encouraging various forms of engagement with societal stakeholders beyond the traditional scientific community, including non-professional researchers under the auspices of citizen science. A non-professional researcher can be involved in research at different stages of the process and with varying levels of participation (e.g., data collection, processing, and analysis), provided that they follow scientifically valid methodologies under the guidance of a professional researcher. To ensure that other stakeholders, including researchers, can make the best use of citizen science results, these outputs must be properly organized, standardized, and stored. Through these efforts, UM aims to contribute to the democratization of knowledge, the fight against misinformation, and the resolution of socially relevant problems.

In 2024, UM joined the Slovenian Citizen Science Network , where it can participate as a project leader, event and training organizer, infrastructure provider, working group member, and more. Participation in this network, which brings together various stakeholders in the field of citizen science, provides additional support for the development of citizen science within UM and thus the development of recommended practices of open science.

7. Exceptions to Full Open Access

UM is committed to acting reasonably and responsibly according to the principles of open science, which include the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary.” Exceptions to full open access to research data and other research outputs are permissible in justified cases where full openness would compromise intellectual property protection, personal data protection, the safety of individuals or the state, or other legal restrictions.

In such justified cases, research data and other research outputs should, whenever possible, be made openly available in anonymised form or under controlled, restricted access. For data that cannot be fully open, various tools and protocols for pseudonymisation and anonymisation have been established to enable their maximum possible exchange.

When research data and other outputs cannot be openly accessible due to justified exceptions, and there are no legal restrictions preventing related metadata from being open, at least the metadata must be openly accessible.

It should also be acknowledged that the understanding of already justified and proportionate exceptions to full open access is subject to change in response to new societal realities.

8. Education and Training

In cooperation with the Rectorate’s professional services and UM members, UM commits to organizing, preparing, and delivering education and training annually, enabling all stakeholders to acquire the necessary skills and expertise to work according to the principles of open science. Education and training must be tailored to different scientific disciplines and the requirements of the pedagogical and study environment. UM also supports collaboration with other national and international institutions and organizations in this regard.

9. Networks, Initiatives, and Other Collaborations

UM supports national and international collaborations for the development and promotion of open science and is committed to maintaining existing memberships and encouraging new ones as decided by its leadership. As the first Slovenian university, UM signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities in 2014 as well as adhered to the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and the Leiden Manifesto on Responsible Research Metrics (2021). In 2020, UM joined the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) on behalf of the HPC RIVR consortium and, in 2022, the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). In April 2024, UM was among the first to sign the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information . At the national level, UM is also an active member of the Slovenian Open Science Community (SSOZ).

To promote openness, collaboration, and awareness, and to foster the responsible integration of open science principles into UM’s academic environment, UM established the Open Science Ambassadors network of the University of Maribor (OZUM Ambassadors) in 2025. This network connects stakeholders, data stewards, professionals in libraries and other professional services at UM, who contribute to the development of various areas of open science, facilitate knowledge and experience exchange, identify and disseminate best practices, highlight challenges, and address issues important to the academic community.

10. Monitoring

The UM Committee for Scientific Research, led by the Vice-Rector for Science and Research, is responsible for the strategic development of open science and will review and update the UM OS Policy every two years as needed.

11. Transparency

The UM Department for Research and Arts (orud@um.si) provides information about UM OS Policy, general information on open science, and contact points for UM’s open science practices, available at the webpage Open science.