Funders requirements

Information on communication and dissemination obligations is regulated by Model grant agreement annex 5 of the Agreement in ARTICLE 17 COMMUNICATION, DISSEMINATION AND VISIBILITY ((p. 110-112). See also Chapter 16 Open Science in Horizon Europe: Programme Guide (37-53). For basic orientation, there is an article at the OpenAire website – Guides for Researchers – Open Science in Horizon Europe proposal.

Open Access

The beneficiary must ensure open access to all scientific peer-reviewed publications (scientific articles and books) related to the project results. Specifically, it must ensure that, no later than the time of publication, a machine-readable version of the publication is deposited and promptly published in a trusted repository of scientific publications, and must be licensed under the latest version of the Creative Commons license in the CC-BY variant or equivalent; monographs and longer texts may be licensed under a more restrictive variant, prohibiting commercial use and derivation of the work.

Open access goals can be achieved by using a green or gold OA publishing model, but the cost of APC fees in hybrid journals is not an allowable project cost. The recipient must retain such copyrights in the results at least to the extent necessary to meet open access requirements.

Data management

The beneficiary undertakes to responsibly manage the research data generated by the project in accordance with the FAIR principles. They must comply with the following conditions:

• Establish a data management plan and update it regularly (minimum requirements are defined in the generic DMP template).
• Deposit data in a trusted repository as soon as possible.
• Ensure (through the repository) open access to the stored data in accordance with the principle of ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’.
• Specify (via the repository) what tools are needed to reuse or validate the data.
• The costs associated with the management of research data and making it available are eligible costs for the duration of the grant.

Open data

Where possible, the recipient must ensure open access to the stored data through the repository in which the data is stored. Access to the data must be provided under the latest available version of the Creative Commons Attribution International (CC-BY) public licence or equivalent.

Data should be shared according to the principle of “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. Thus, data need not be shared, for example, if disclosure of the data:

• would compromise the legitimate interests of the recipient, e.g. commercial exploitation of the data; or
•  would conflict with other conditions, e.g. data protection or intellectual property protection.

If the research data or part of it cannot be made available, the reasons must be explained in the DMP.

Trustworthy Repository

To ensure a long-term preservation of data, the recipient is required to store the data in a trustworthy repository, whether or not it is shared. The terms and conditions of a specific call may then specify whether this repository must be connected to the EOSC (European Open Science Cloud) infrastructure. Data should be deposited as soon as possible, in accordance with the deadlines set by the beneficiary in the data management plan.

Metadata

The recipient is obliged to provide (through the repository) open access to bibliographic information (metadata) that identifies and describes the deposited datasets. The metadata must be published under a Creative Common Public Domain (CC0, free work status) license or equivalent and must comply with FAIR principles (in particular, be machine-readable).

Horizon 2020 (H2020) was the European Commission’s main framework programme to support science, research and innovation for the period 2014-2020. In the 7th Framework Programme, the European Commission piloted an open access obligation for scientific publications in selected areas. H2020 builds on this previous programme with a full open access obligation. An open access obligation for research data has also been piloted and applies to all H2020 participants from 2017.

The obligation to ensure open access is stated in the H2020 core documents:

Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, article 43

Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, article 18

The obligation of open access to research data under H2020 is specified in Article 29.3 of the Model grant agreement.

The Johannes Amos Comenius Programme is a programme financed from European Union structural funds in the programme period 2021–2027. One of the three priorities and goals of the programme is support of research and development and the associated development of high-level capacity.

The implementation of open science as an approach to a scientific process based on open co-operation and the effective dissemination of knowledge is mandatory in Call 02_22_008 Cutting-edge Research. In accordance with this concept, the applicant/recipient is obliged, first and foremost, to ensure:

• open access to scientific publications that are the result of research financed within the scope of the programme;
• the management of research data (including data on which scientific publications are based) in accordance with FAIR principles;
• open access to this data in accordance with the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”.

The applicant/recipient is recommended to apply further supplementary approaches of open science within the project and this will be considered in a positive light within the scope of the material evaluation of the project.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has issued a Guide to Approaches to Open Science for the purposes of this call and for other purposes.
For easier fulfilment of the project applications of applicants from units of the Czech Academy of Sciences, two documents have been elaborated (in Czech):

• Services by the library regarding OS for OP JAK
• Manual – OS in feasibility study

The EXCELES programme is an implementation tool for part (5.1 Excellent Research and Development in the Health Sector) of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The following are required of applicants:

• data administration – the submission of a data management plan in each interim (and final) report,
• open data – scientific data obtained within the scope of the project is, in accordance with the tender documentation, to be communicated where possible.

“9.2. The Definition of Data for Publication

“The recipient and other participants in support must also ensure the provision of data on the project and, where possible, scientific data obtained by support in the project in accordance with the requirements of Act No. 106/1999 Sb. (…). The recipient will, in connection with these obligations, submit to the funder its plan for the communication of scientific data obtained during the project in every interim and final report on the progress of the project (“data management plan”).”

(Tender Documentation, EXCELES 2021 Programme, page 38)

A number of competitive calls are realised in the SIGMA programme:

First public tender – Sub-goal 3: Support for the innovative potential of the social sciences, humanities and art – the assessment of project proposals takes place.

Second public tender – Sub-goal 2: Beginner researchers – project submission period.

Third public tender – Sub-goal 1: Support for the commercialisation of VaVaI+ – in preparation.

A separate chapter and appendix to the tender documentation for the first and second public tenders are devoted to open access:

Open Access

The recipient is obliged to ensure “Open Access” to the types of outputs/results listed below and to associated research data.

• 1. Jimp – an original/summary article in a peer-reviewed specialist periodical that is contained in the Web of Science database (hereafter “WoS”) with the attribute “Article”, “Review”, or “Letter”;
  2. JSC – an original/summary article in a peer-reviewed specialist periodical that is contained in the SCOPUS database with the attribute “Article”, “Review”, or “Letter”;
  3. Jost – an original/summary article in a peer-reviewed specialist periodical that does not belong to any of the above groups;
  4. Nmap – a specialised map with specialised content;
  5. Npam – heritage procedure;
  6. NmetA – methodologies and procedures accredited by an authorised body;
  7. NmetC – a methodology certificated by an authorised body;
  8. NmetS – a methodology approved by the pertinent body of the state administration responsible for the given topic.

Open Data

• For these results the recipient is obliged to ensure compliance with the requirements related to open access given in the document Research Data and Open Access to Outputs/Results, specifically:

1. 1. deposit a machine-readable final version of the text of the output/result and research data in the repository, and
   2. allow open access to the text on the output/result and associated research data under the conditions of an appropriate licence by means of publication in a repository or publication in an open journal, this in such a way that open access must be provided within 6 months (12 months for the social sciences and humanities) of publication or completion of the output/result, at the latest by the end of work on the project

(Contract on the Provision of Support)

• Access is particularly welcome and recommended in the case of results of other types for which access is technically easy (an article in an anthology, a chapter in a specialist book, etc.).
• Open access is generally understood as the assurance of permanent, immediate and free on-line access without restrictions of any kind to the full texts of scientific publications (most often articles) and other research outputs/results and related data. The output/result is obtained only if it meets all requirements according to the 2017+ Methodology, the requirements of open access listed in the document Research Data and Open Access to Outputs/Results and the conditions of the Contract on the Provision of Support.

Data Management

• The recipient is obliged to submit a “Data Management Plan” (DMP) to the funder along with the first interim report, to update it regularly, and to submit an updated version of the “Data Management Plan” to the funder as part of any interim and final report.
• The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic recommends its own DMP template for the creation of a Data Management Plan, though it is also possible to use the templates of the EC Horizon Europe programme from the National Library of Technology.
• The main beneficiary is further obliged to submit information to the funder during the course of implementation of the project on the basis of which it will be possible to verify that open access is provided to results and research data in accordance with the conditions given in the specific conditions of the contract on the provision of support.
• Any publication costs associated with publication in open journals or on publication platforms and costs associated with data preparation and storage are eligible costs for the duration of the project.

(Tender Documentation; 2^nd Public Tender, SIGMA programme, page 9)

The conditions of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic for the KAPPA programme for the support of applied research, experimental development and innovation require that the recipient ensures:

• Open Access to all results of any project of type “J” – “specialist peer-reviewed article”.
• open data – all supporting data associated with publications. The approach “as open as possible, as closed as necessary” should apply to open data and its sharing, i.e. as open as possible, though with consideration given to the interests of the recipient. Data should also be managed in accordance with FAIR principles.
• data management – Recipients are obliged within 6 months of the initiation of work on a project to submit a Data Management Plan (DMP) containing a description of what data is to be created, processed and/or collected. Detailed information on the conditions and a guide to conforming to the conditions can be found at Open Access in the KAPPA Programme.

Article 4 The obligations of the main recipient

2) The main recipient is further obliged

1. l) to submit to the funder a data management plan within 6 months of the initiation of work on the project, … in what way is the data to be shared and published; and in what way is the data to be stored during the course of work on the project and preserved following the conclusion of the project.

(“Conditions of the Provision of Support in the Kappa Programme”, 2019, page 8)

Article 14 Rights to the results of a project and their protection
4) The recipient is obliged to ensure “open access” to all results of any project of type J – “peer-reviewed article”, i.e. free on-line access for any user to all peer-reviewed scientific publications and to all research data associated with such publications.

(“Conditions of the Provision of Support in the Kappa Programme”, 2019, page 19)

In the TREND programme, the main recipient will submit a “Data Management Plan” to the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic along with its first interim report, will update this plan on a regular basis, and will submit any updated version of this “Data Management Plan” to the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic as part of any interim and final report, including information on accessibility and the method of dissemination of the research results and research data.

This Data Management Plan must contain information about:

• what research data the recipient is to create, process or collect during the course of the project;
• what methods and principles for its management are used with a view to FAIR principles (retrievability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability);
• whether and in what way data is to be shared and published;
• and in what way this data is to be stored during the course of work on the project and following its conclusion.

The requirements relating to data management in the Tender Documentation for 2025 state, for example, the obligation to create and submit Data Management Plan:

• The Beneficiary agrees to submit a Data Management Plan (DMP) on or before the date of the
  submission of the first Interim Report and to update the DMP regularly, as needed, and to
  submit it regularly as part of the Interim and Final Reports, including information on the
  availability and dissemination of the research results and research data. The updated research
  data management plan shall be included in the Interim and Final Reports.

• Not submitting the DMP will be considered breaching budgetary discipline.

The requirements relating to data management in the Tender Documentation for 2024 are as follows.

• The separate document “justification of project proposal” with a defined scope and prescribed structure comprises part of the project proposal. A “concise description of research data” is one of the points of this structure.

“(9) Section C1 – justification of project proposal…
i) a concise description of the research data that is to be used, collected or created during the course of work on the project and the ways in which it is to be managed; first and foremost information on availability and the method of dissemination of the research results and research data in accordance with the principle that research results and research data are not published only in justified cases (an update is submitted with each sub-report and with the final report);”

(Tender Documentation for Standard Projects 2024, page 18)

• Eligible project costs in section 3.3.3 Material Costs; “4) Costs for other services and non-material costs” this year include “costs for the management of research data and the creation of a Data Management Plan (DMP)”

The following conditions relating to data management appear in the Tender Documentation for 2023:

• The project proposal must contain a concise description of the data that is to be created during the project and the methods of its management.
• The Tender Documentation further states that the costs of the management of research data and the creation of a Data Management Plan (DMP) are eligible projects costs.