April 2, 2026
How are open research infrastructures sustained over time? And what roles do different actors in the research ecosystem play in supporting them?
A new publication from the Barcelona Declaration Working Group ‘Sustaining Infrastructures’ explores these questions by bringing together insights from two stakeholder sessions focused on the sustainability of open research information infrastructures.
Knowledge sharing sessions
The report Barcelona Declaration Working Group Sustaining Infrastructures. Sessions on Open Research Infrastructures and Related Initiatives, now available on Zenodo, captures perspectives shared during these discussions and reflects on how infrastructures and ecosystem initiatives approach sustainability in practice.
The sessions brought together representatives from open research infrastructures: OpenAlex, OpenCitations, and OpenAIRE, as well as related initiatives working to strengthen the sustainability of open infrastructure: Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI), SCOSS, and TSOSI. Each session offered an opportunity to exchange experiences and reflect on governance models, funding approaches, and the broader coordination needed to sustain shared research information infrastructures.
Themes and perspectives
Across the conversations, several themes emerged. Participants highlighted the importance of transparency around funding flows, the need for stronger coordination across institutions and initiatives, and the growing recognition that open infrastructures require sustained and collective support to remain viable over time. The discussions also illustrated how different stakeholders play complementary roles in strengthening the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem.
The publication synthesizes these perspectives, providing an overview of the infrastructures and initiatives that participated, reflections on sustainability challenges and opportunities, and considerations for how the Barcelona Declaration community can contribute to supporting open research information infrastructures.
Working group actions
The sessions also helped focus the work of the Working Group ‘Sustaining Infrastructures’, shaping a set of concrete activities to support institutions in moving from high-level commitments toward practical implementation. These include:
- developing a case repository of infrastructures and institutional approaches;
- producing structured profiles of implementation journeys;
- identifying key decision points for institutional support;
- supporting learning across the community.
📄 Read the full report on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19369910
🎥 Recordings of the sessions are available on the [Barcelona Declaration YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@BarcelonaDeclaration}.