Written by Tereza Szybisty

The EOSC Open Science Observatory, developed as part of the EOSC Track project, provides a European evidence base for monitoring the development of Open Science policies and practices across countries. Through the Observatory, it is possible to monitor multiple aspects of the Open Science ecosystem, including developments related to Citizen Science. The platform brings together several types of data that help create a more complete picture of how Citizen Science is supported and implemented across Europe.

Among the information that can be explored in the Observatory are:

• National policies and strategies related to Open Science and Citizen Science

• Monitoring mechanisms established at national level to track Citizen Science activities

• Financial investments supporting Citizen Science initiatives

• Country narratives, which provide qualitative insights into national developments and policy contexts

• Research outputs and resources, such as publications, datasets, and software connected to the Open Science ecosystem

The Observatory integrates data from several sources, including the EOSC Steering Board Survey on National Contributions to EOSC and Open Science, the OpenAIRE Graph, and the European Open Science Resources Registry. Together, these sources allow the Observatory to combine structured policy information, open scholarly data, and qualitative national insights.

Monitoring Framework for National Contributions to EOSC and Open Science for the EOSC Steering Board

Data currently available in the Observatory shows that Citizen Science is increasingly recognised at the policy level across Europe. In 2024, 14 European countries report having a national policy related to Citizen Science. These policies may take different forms: some countries have standalone Citizen Science strategies, while others integrate Citizen Science within broader Open Science or research and innovation frameworks. However, the data also reveals an important gap between policy recognition and systematic monitoring. While 14 countries report national policies, only 3 countries currently report having national monitoring mechanisms dedicated to Citizen Science. This means that in most countries, while Citizen Science may be recognised at the strategic level, there are still limited structures in place to systematically track its development, impact, or support mechanisms.

The Observatory also captures reported financial investments supporting Citizen Science initiatives. For 2023, countries reported approximately €16.9 million invested in Citizen Science-related activities across Europe. Reported investments come from several countries, including Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Slovenia, with funding levels ranging from smaller targeted initiatives to national programmes of several million euros. However, this figure should be interpreted carefully. Because monitoring mechanisms are still limited in many countries, financial investments are not always systematically tracked or labelled as Citizen Science funding. In many cases, support for Citizen Science is embedded within broader programmes such as Open Science initiatives, research funding schemes, or societal engagement programmes.

Insights from the EOSC Open Science Observatory were recently presented at the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) Conference as part of the session titled “Citizen Science across Europe: From national strategies to shared policy goals.” The session was organised as a roundtable discussion, bringing together perspectives from national initiatives and European-level policy monitoring. As part of the programme, the EOSC Track project contributed a video presentation highlighting how the EOSC Open Science Observatory supports the monitoring of Citizen Science policies across Europe and what current data reveals about policy recognition, monitoring capacity, and financial investments. The roundtable also drew on the outcomes of nation-wide cases from Spain, Portugal, and Poland, which explored how Citizen Science strategies are being developed within different national contexts. 

The insights emerging from the EOSC Open Science Observatory highlight both progress and opportunities for further development. Citizen Science is increasingly recognised in policy frameworks across Europe. However, monitoring capacities remain uneven, and financial investments are not always visible or systematically tracked. Strengthening monitoring mechanisms and improving data visibility will be essential for turning policy ambitions into measurable outcomes.

The EOSC Open Science Observatory contributes to this effort by providing a shared European evidence base that supports transparency, learning, and coordination. By making policy developments, investments, and national contexts more visible, it helps countries better understand their progress and learn from one another as Citizen Science continues to grow across Europe.

Written by Tereza Szybisty

The EOSC Open Science Observatory has launched the Country Pages, offering a detailed and comprehensive view of Open Science progress and initiatives across Europe.

The Country Pages map the diverse national Research and Development (R&D) landscapes across more than 35 European countries. By selecting a country on the interactive map, users can explore country-specific insights on national Open Science policies, practices, and developments.

This is the first version of the Country Pages, and further enhancements and updates will be introduced in the coming months. Planned updates include, for example, linkages to the European Open Science Resources Registry, a curated collection of key resources supporting Open Science across Europe, such as national policies, strategies, best practices, templates, and impact stories.

The information presented in the EOSC Open Science Observatory Country Pages is aggregated from multiple credible sources to provide a comprehensive and reliable overview of the Open Science landscape in each country. Each data source is clearly indicated within the interface through descriptive text and a color-coded indicator displayed at the top of each tile, allowing users to easily identify the origin of the information.

The Country Pages uniquely combine several types of data, including:

• Survey on National Contributions to EOSC and Open Science – information provided by national representatives on policies, initiatives, and contributions to EOSC.

• OpenAIRE Graph – structured data on research outputs, repositories, and scholarly communication infrastructures.

• NOADs Country Narratives – qualitative insights developed by the OpenAIRE National Open Access Desks (NOADs) describing the national Open Science landscape.

• External Data Sources – including trusted datasets such as Eurostat, EOSC Portal, and CoARA, among others.

This combination of structured datasets, survey responses, and qualitative national narratives makes the Country Pages a unique resource for understanding the evolution of Open Science across Europe.

From the national perspective, the Country Pages are guided by the Country Narrative Framework, a structured methodology developed to capture and document the diverse national R&D landscapes across Europe.

The framework provides guidance for collecting and organising country-specific information related to Open Science and ensures consistency across national narratives. It supports the documentation of key aspects of national Open Science ecosystems, including:

• STI Policy Framework – national science, technology, and innovation policies, legal frameworks, and key actors.

• Open Science Policy – national legislation and policies related to Open Science, including institutional and funder policies and their alignment with European frameworks.

• Open Science Digital Infrastructure – national digital infrastructures supporting Open Science, including repositories, data services, networks, monitoring systems, and authentication infrastructures.

• Open Science Digital Skills – initiatives supporting the development of Open Science skills, including training infrastructures, digital competence centres, and professional roles such as data stewards.

The framework was recently updated through a systematic review and an open consultation with selected NOADs, ensuring that it reflects the evolving Open Science landscape and supports more effective monitoring of national developments.

The development of the Open Science Country Pages would not have been possible without the contributions of the broader EOSC and OpenAIRE communities. We are particularly grateful to the OpenAIRE National Open Access Desks (NOADs) for preparing the country narratives. Their contributions provide valuable qualitative insights that help contextualise the data and highlight what is happening on the ground within national Open Science ecosystems. We would also like to sincerely thank the EOSC Steering Board country representatives and country managers for their contributions to the Survey on National Contributions to EOSC and Open Science, which forms an important part of the Observatory’s dataset.

The survey was published in the EOSC Open Science Observatory on 21 February 2024 and remained open until 29 August 2025. In total, 31 countries responded, including 24 of the 27 European Union (EU) Member States and 7 non-EU countries. This broad participation ensures strong coverage and comparability across the European Research Area. The 2024 edition of the survey builds on a revised Monitoring Framework for National Contributions to EOSC, designed to capture comparable and actionable evidence across Europe. The framework covers eight key categories relevant to EOSC and Open Science:

Readers may notice that the Survey on National Contributions to EOSC and Open Science 2024 was conducted and completed in 2025. This timing is intentional and reflects the nature of national-level monitoring. Similar to tax reporting, where data for a given year are collected and reported after that year has ended, the survey captures validated information for the full 2024 reporting period.

Collecting data after the close of the reference year allows countries to report on complete, consolidated, and quality-checked information, including policy developments, implementation practices, impacts, and investments (learn more about data validation and quality assurance). This approach ensures consistency, comparability, and reliability of the data across countries and over time, supporting robust monitoring of EOSC and Open Science progress at European level.

The survey is part of a long-term effort to systematically monitor national contributions to EOSC and Open Science. A pilot survey was first conducted in 2021, followed by the first full implementation in 2022. Since then, the survey has been conducted annually, enabling longitudinal analysis and trend identification.

All survey results are archived in the EOSC Open Science Observatory Zenodo Community and made exploitable through the EOSC Open Science Observatory. The Observatory was initially developed within the EOSC Future project and is now further developed and maintained under the EOSC Track project, ensuring continuity and sustainability of Open Science monitoring at European level.

With this latest update, the 2024 survey data are now fully available in the EOSC Open Science Observatory. Users can explore national-level information across all eight categories, compare countries, and gain insight into how policies and practices related to EOSC and Open Science are evolving across Europe.

We invite policymakers, researchers, funders, and other stakeholders to explore the updated data, use it for analysis and evidence-based decision-making, and contribute to the ongoing dialogue on strengthening EOSC and Open Science implementation across Europe.