Dutch researchers gain free access to new European open science publishing platform
Starting this year, Dutch scientists can publish their research for free on Open Research Europe (ORE), a new platform launched by CERN and funded by the EU and national bodies. This move aims to make scientific communication more transparent, equitable, and accessible to all, regardless of funding status.
| Key Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Platform | Open Research Europe (ORE) |
| Launch | Later in 2026 |
| Host | CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) |
| Funding Consortium | European Commission + national bodies (incl. NWO, Netherlands) |
| Access for Dutch Researchers | Free for all, regardless of NWO grant status |
| Publishing Model | Publish–Review–Curate (open peer review, post-publication review) |
| Current Articles Published | Over 1,200 |
| Authors Involved | 6,300+ from 3,000+ institutions worldwide |
| Participating Countries | Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, etc. |
The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) plays a key role in promoting open science and access to research. By joining the ORE consortium, NWO ensures Dutch researchers benefit from a non-commercial, publicly funded platform that aligns with national open science strategies. CERN, as the technical host, provides expertise in maintaining open science infrastructures.
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CERN launches new Open Research Europe publication platform this year
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has recently been selected to launch a new phase of Open Research Europe (ORE). A dedicated funding consortium – consisting of the European Commission and national funding bodies and research organizations across Europe – is making this possible. NWO has recently joined this consortium.
With the launch of the new ORE platform, later this year, the opportunity to publish will be further extended to researchers affiliated with institutions in countries participating in the consortium. Publishing will remain completely free of charge, both for researchers with EU funding and authors from participating countries. NWO’s participation means that ORE will become available to all Dutch researchers as a publication channel, regardless of whether they hold an NWO grant. The aim of the new platform is to promote equality, diversity, and transparency in scientific communication while maintaining high standards of quality and integrity.
Marcel Levi, Chair of NWO and Vice President of Science Europe, on the importance of the platform: “For NWO, the development of the Open Research Europe platform aligns perfectly with our institutional open access and open science strategy. This strategy focuses, among other things, on promoting alternatives to open access outside commercial parties or paying open access fees via the so-called APC model. What makes the new ORE particularly special for us is its inherently collaborative nature: a broad coalition of funders and institutions from across Europe working together to build a sustainable open access publication infrastructure. In doing so, we jointly promote open science practices, such as open peer review. Hosting the platform at CERN sends a powerful signal to academic communities that the new ORE is firmly rooted in public values and that the consortium is committed to protecting publicly funded research.”
Hosting the platform at CERN sends a powerful signal to academic communities that the new ORE is firmly rooted in public values and that the consortium is committed to protecting publicly funded research.
Quality and transparency
ORE follows the innovative Publish–Review–Curate model, which promotes quality and transparency in research publishing. Articles are first checked for integrity, then published openly and peer-reviewed. Peer review reports are made public, and articles that successfully pass the review process are compiled into subject-specific collections. This approach combines quality assurance with openness. Post-publication review is also enabled.
Steady growth
The European Commission launched ORE in 2021 to provide researchers within an EU research programme with a free publishing option. The platform was designed to make publicly funded research more transparent, accessible, and sustainable through an innovative publishing model. In the five years since its launch, the platform has seen steady growth and acceptance within the research community, with over 1,200 published articles and more than 6,300 authors from over 3,000 institutions worldwide.
CERN
The role of CERN in the new ORE builds on its long-standing experience in developing and maintaining open science infrastructures. CERN has extensive expertise in community-driven services for the global research community. By hosting ORE at CERN, the consortium aims to provide a neutral, reliable, and sustainable environment, drawing on expertise gained through leading open science initiatives such as Zenodo, Invenio, and SCOAP3.
“For CERN, hosting Open Research Europe is a natural extension of our commitment to open, community-led scientific infrastructure,” said Alex Kohls, Head of the Organizational Support and Improvement Department at CERN. “The platform supports the rapid exchange of research while strengthening Europe’s position in shaping the future of scientific communication.”
Fairer, more equitable, and diverse
The EU Council’s Conclusions on Open Scholarly Communication (May 2023) also underscores the importance of supporting such a platform. NWO has long been committed to promoting diamond open access (no costs for authors or readers). For example, NWO was instrumental in establishing the national publication platform openjournals.nl and supports diamond open access publishers such as the Open Library for the Humanities (OLH) and SciPost.
The ORE funding consortium currently includes members from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The European Commission participates as a permanent observer on the board and provides dedicated financial support. CERN will supply the technical and operational infrastructure for the platform, built on the open-source software Open Journal Systems (OJS), while governance and editorial oversight remain with the ORE consortium.
Source: NWO