NORF’s Open Research Fund 2023 is open

NORF’s Open Research Fund 2023 is now open to proposals. This year, the Fund includes a new strand designed to recognise and reward researchers who want to play a leading role in advancing open research in Ireland.

Ireland’s National Open Research Forum (NORF) established an Open Research Fund in 2022 to advance the implementation of Ireland’s National Action Plan for Open Research 2022-2030 and accelerate the uptake of open research practices in Ireland. In 2022, 6 projects received a total of €1.16 million to build national capacity and infrastructure for open research. This year, €1.7 million is available via open funding calls and an estimated 12-15 projects will be awarded funding.

NORF’s Open Research Fund 2023 is divided into two strands. Strand I, Priority Actions 2023, targets a set of five actions identified in the National Action Plan as follows:

1. Incentivising Open Research Practices in Ireland
2. Public Engagement and Open Research
3. Mapping National Open Research Infrastructure
4. National Research Data Management Framework
5. Institutional Open Access Policies and Rights Retention

These actions seek to advance key areas of open research at the national level and proposals will need to demonstrate benefit to all stakeholders across the Irish research system. 

Strand II, Open Research Stimulus 2023, seeks to stimulate and advance the uptake of open research by recognising and rewarding researchers from all disciplines who want to play a leading role in advancing open research in Ireland. This is an open call for projects that align with and address one of the three themes of the National Action Plan for Open Research:

• Establishing a culture of open research
• Achieving 100% open access to research publications
• Enabling FAIR research data and other outputs

Projects will need to be targeted at and benefit a specific community or group of communities (e.g. disciplines, institutions, career stages). 

Further details about the application process for both Strands are available on the NORF Open Research Fund 2023 webpage.

For queries related to NORF’s Open Research Fund, please contact norfgrants@ria.ie

Read more on the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science press release

Key Dates

• 2 March 2023 Call specifications and forms published
• 2 June 2023 FAQ deadline
• 9 June 2023 Application deadline
• 28 July 2023 Call outcome
• 2 October 2023 Award start date

The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is the coordinating organisation for NORF, employing the National Open Research Coordinator and the NORF Project manager.