ORCC and UKRN release three new primers on working in open research

ORCC and the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) are pleased to announce the release of three primers on Open Research .

These new primers will help potential applicants and those new in post to understand what’s involved in different open research activities. They give an overview of skills and knowledge needed, the type of day to day activities involved and links to resources and key networks to get further support.

Screenshot of the research data management primer

Many new roles have emerged over the last few years to facilitate the progress of open research within institutions. These roles may be positioned in different parts of a research organisation – the research office, the library, the faculty – every organisation is different.  However, there are core activities that remain the same. 

Recruiting and retaining staff is a challenge. Many institutions do not receive applications from the right type of candidate and need to advertise several times. Training is usually on-the-job and experienced staff become highly employable and often leave to go to another institution. ORCC and UKRN hope these primers will improve understanding of what these roles entail in order to encourage more applicants and support those already in post. 

Take a look at the primers here: 

About ORCC

The open research support and scholarly communications sectors are key growth areas within universities. They support open research practices, open access, repository management, publishing advice, bibliometrics and research data management. However, in the rapid evolution of this sector a skills gap has developed. There are difficulties with identifying and describing the skills needed and in recognising their interconnectedness. This lack of role profiles presents challenges in the recruitment and development of open research support staff. Competencies are usually gained on-the-job, and through self-development. There is a high turnover of trained employees between research support teams and out of the sector.

In addressing the skills gap, ORCC aims to identify and map the skills and competencies needed by the current and future open research support workforce. Professionalising these roles across the sector will achieve the very highest quality of support for researchers. ORCC engages heavily with the library and research management communities through active outreach at community workshops and conferences. A recent workshop organised by ORCC, in cooperation with FAIRsFAIR and EOSC Synergy highlighted the need for UK institutions to take a coordinated and strategic approach to building the competences and capabilities for Open Research.

ORCC was founded in 2017 and was previously known as SC3. Its new name (as of July 2021) is Open Research Competencies Coalition (ORCC). ORCC is not a part of Jisc and is grateful to Jisc for hosting its web page.

Resources about the experience of working in scholarly communications

So, what is it really like to work in research support and scholarly communication?

In their own words: working in scholarly communication

New to OA? Top tips from the experts

Repository Professionals: The Next Generation

Blogs and reports about what we have been doing

Coordination needed: recurring theme from a recent UK workshop on open research skills

Developing a skilled workforce to support scholarly communication – event report and next steps

Developing skills for scholarly communication

Plans for Scholarly Communication Development

Planning scholarly communication training in the UK

Shifting sands: notes from UKSG2017 workshop on skills

Research we have done

Skills in scholarly communication – needs & development

Where did they come from? Educational background of people in scholarly communication