2026 Conference of the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information

Aligning policy and practical implementation

📅 24–25 November 2026
⏰ 9:00-17:00 CET
📍Leibniz Association Headquarters, Chausseestraße 111, Berlin
👥 In person / online
📝 Register for online participation

The 2026 Conference of the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information will bring together the international community of signatories, supporters, and other stakeholders, creating a space to advance open research information across institutional contexts and explore how to align policy and practical implementation.

The conference is organized by the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information together with Leibniz Association and Helmholtz Open Science Office.

Online registration remains open

Join us online for two days of exchange on how policy and practical implementation can reinforce one another in advancing open research information. Participation is free of charge.

Expressions of interest for in-person participation are now closed. Those who expressed an interest in attending in person will be notified of the outcome by Thursday, 8 October. Registration for online participation remains open and is available to everyone.

Participation Support Fund

Applications for support through the Participation Support Fund are now closed

To help make in-person participation possible for people who might otherwise face financial barriers to attending the conference in Berlin, we have established a Participation Support Fund. The fund will contribute towards the travel and accommodation costs of selected participants.

By supporting participation from different regions and contexts, the fund will help ensure that the conference discussions benefit from a broader range of voices, perspectives, and experiences.

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support confirmed to date from Crossref, ROR, OPERAS, Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Dutch Research Council NWO, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and OSIRIS Solutions GmbH. Their contributions help make the 2026 Barcelona Declaration Conference more inclusive and internationally representative.

Preliminary programme

The conference will run from 9:00 to 17:00 CET on both days.

The conference programme will bring together policy perspectives, institutional experiences, practical implementation, and emerging work from across the Barcelona Declaration community. Sessions will combine moderated panel discussions, short presentations and interactive discussions in smaller groups.

The conference will also feature a poster exhibition showcasing projects, initiatives, and practical experiences related to open research information, as well as outcomes from the Barcelona Declaration Working Groups.

Keynote panels

Both conference days will start with a keynote panel discussion connecting policy perspectives, institutional priorities, and related international initiatives.

High-level policy panel This panel will bring together policy perspectives from different regions to discuss how research policy can support the transition to open research information, the challenges encountered across different contexts, and the conditions needed to move from commitments to implementation.
Related initiatives panel This panel will explore connections between international initiatives working to reform research assessment, improve research information, and advance openness. The discussion will consider areas of alignment, complementary approaches, and opportunities for closer collaboration.

Programme topics

Other presentations at the conference will address the following areas:
🏛️ Institutional implementation and links to open science policy
🔄 Institutional use cases: replacing closed systems
🏢 Research information infrastructure (institutional and non-institutional)
💰 Funder perspectives
📊 Monitoring and assessment
🔍 Critical reflections on open research information

Further details about speakers and moderators will be announced as the programme is finalized

visual for the event “Offene Forschungsinformationen in Deutschland – Vernetzungstreffen begleitend zur Barcelona Declaration Conference 2026” including the title, date, and location, as well as the logos of the organizing institutions (Working Group on Research Information & Systems of the German Initiative for Network Information e. V., Leibniz Association, Helmholtz Open Science Office, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

German-language satellite event

Following the conference, a German-language satellite event will take place the next day, November 26, also in Berlin. The event provides a forum for exchange and discussion on open research information in Germany and beyond. Invited are stakeholders, institutions, initiatives, and projects that work with research information systems, (open) research information, and metadata – both in practice and at the levels of leadership, administration, policy, and funding. The goal is to better connect the sometimes fragmented activities and communities and to advance open research information in German academia across institutional boundaries.

The event will take place at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and is an in-person event conducted in German. Stakeholders, institutions, initiatives, and projects from the entire German-speaking region (DACH) are also welcome to participate.

The event is organized by the Research Information & Systems Working Group (AG FIS) of the German Initiative for Network Information e. V. (DINI) in cooperation with the Leibniz Association, the Helmholtz Open Science Office, and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Find more information on the side event and registration here: https://events.hifis.net/event/4638/

Please note that the participation in the side event does not require attendance at the Barcelona Declaration Conference and vice versa, and both events require separate registration.