UKRN Open Research Programme

The University of Sheffield is a member of the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN), a national peer-led consortium seeking to promote best practice in research by promoting training activities, disseminating good practice and working collaboratively to co-ordinate developments across the sector.

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The programme

As a UKRN  member, the University of Sheffield is currently working with other institutional partners on a five-year project to accelerate the uptake of high-quality open research practices. The programme has three workstreams: training, evaluation and sharing.

The project will develop and deliver high quality training in open research, transparency and reproducibility, including developing train-the-trainer workshop materials, rolling out training workshops across consortium members, and disseminating training materials to the wider sector. 

It will evaluate open research practices and reporting mechanisms across consortium members, develop case studies showcasing good practice, and disseminate outputs. The outcomes of this evaluation will inform the development of institutional review processes around open research.

Finally, project partners will develop the information available to share via the UKRN webpages, including details of open research practices, training, case studies and surveys; and recognition, reward and promotion practices. Project partners will develop an external engagement plan, reach out to new research organisations, and develop a long term plan to provide services sustainably going forward.

"The UKRN Open Research Programme is working with institutions and international experts in open research training to develop and deliver train-the-trainer sessions focussing on open research topics. Through the programme, University of Sheffield researchers and professional services staff have access to these train-the-trainer events, exclusive accreditation and ongoing support to develop and deliver their own training. This cascading model aims to accelerate the uptake of high-quality open research practices and address the UKRN's broader mission of ensuring the UK remains a world leading place to do research"

Adam Partridge

Open Research Training Lead, University of Sheffield

More information about the UKRN Open Research Programme can be found here.

Forthcoming events

A workshop on ‘Teaching Transparent Methods of Empirical Research’, affiliated with both the UKRN Open Research Programme and Project TIER (Teaching Integrity in Empirical Research) will be held on 21 June 2023, as part of the Teaching Reproducible Research and Open Science Conference. More details of this event can be found here.

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