Strengthened national capacity – the key to secure and open research data

The Government has set a national goal that all research data in Sweden should be openly accessible by 2026. Despite ongoing work on strategies and the introduction of the FAIR principles, progress is slow. Many stakeholders and organisations still find it difficult to assess how much research data is actually being shared and how opportunities for open access are evaluated.

“In order to increase incentives, the management of research data must become a natural part of the entire research process, with clear working methods, roles and routines. At the same time, researchers need access to digital infrastructure that makes it easier to work according to the FAIR principles,” says Sanja Halling, project manager for the Swedish Research Council’s report.

In this year's report on national efforts to promote open access to research data, the Swedish Research Council has examined the work of higher education institutions in particular. There is a positive trend in terms of developing and implementing policies, but there is still a long way to go between ambition and reality. For Sweden to take a leading role in open science, transparency must be balanced against security, so that sensitive information is protected while as much data as possible can be shared.

The report also points to the need to strengthen national capacity in information security, reliability and long-term preservation of research data. There is also a need for a clearer understanding of how open access is currently funded – and how it should be funded in the future.

Collaboration at European level, for example within Science Europe and the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), offers great potential for creating new opportunities to publish, find and reuse research data across national borders.

“To make the transition to open access to research data a success, at both the national and European levels, we need long-term, coordinated, and strategic work that focuses on high data quality, security, and FAIR principles. This is how we ensure that valuable research data is not only preserved but also put to good use – for research, innovation and society at large," concludes Sanja Halling.

Open access to research data – a review, analysis and assessment 2025 (in Swedish)