The National Open Research Forum (NORF) was established in 2017 to drive the Irish agenda for Open Research. NORF is co-chaired by the Higher Education Board (HEA) and the Health Research Board (HRB), with secretariat from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI) and support from the Department of Education and Skills (DES). It combines the expertise of representatives from policy, research funding, research performing, library sector and other key stakeholders in the research system across Ireland. Individual Working Groups address key areas of open access publications, FAIR research data, and research infrastructure. As of 2022, the Digital Repository of Ireland is the coordinating organisation for NORF.
There are two main strands of NORF’s role:
In 2022, NORF awarded funding to six collaborative projects across six priority actions in Ireland’s National Action Plan for Open Research 2022-2030, and in 2023 NORF funded a further 13 consortia-based projects.
The National Framework on the Transition to an Open Research Environment was published in 2019 as the first step in a process to create a National Action Plan for the transition to an open research environment in Ireland, and aligned with European Commission policy in this area.
The National Framework has five thematic areas:
1) Open access to research publications
2) Enabling FAIR research data
3) Infrastructures for access to and preservation of research
4) Skills and competencies
5) Incentives and rewards
The National Action Plan for Open Research was published in 2022 and outlines objectives and actions, and serves as a roadmap for the implementation of open research across Ireland, outlining national goals and coordinated actions that will assist the national research system as a whole to better support open research practices. The plan covers the period 2022-2030, aligned with Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy.
The European Commission is currently proposing to establish the European Health Data Space. But what will the proposed EHDS mean for health researchers?
The EHDS creates a strong legal framework for the use of health data for research, innovation, public health, policy-making and regulatory purposes. Under strict conditions, researchers, innovators, public institutions or industry will have access to large amounts of high-quality health data, crucial to develop life-saving treatments, vaccines or medical devices and ensuring better access to healthcare and more resilient health systems.
The access to such data by researchers, companies or institutions will require a permit from a health data access body, to be set up in all Member States. Access will only be granted if the requested data is used for specific purposes, in closed, secure environments and without revealing the identity of the individual. It is also strictly prohibited to use the data for decisions, which are detrimental to citizens such as designing harmful products or services or increasing an insurance premium.
The health data access bodies will be connected to the new decentralised EU-infrastructure for secondary use (HealthData@EU) which will be set up to support cross-border projects.
The EHDS complements GDPR and other data directives. More on the EHDS