May 28, 2026
The signature highlights the growing role of international university networks in advancing open research information and community-governed research infrastructures.
We are pleased to welcome The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities as a signatory of the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information.
The Guild brings together 23 universities and plays a central role in shaping Europe’s research and innovation landscape. Its signature of the Barcelona Declaration signals a clear commitment not only to advancing open research information, but also to strengthening institutional autonomy and supporting more transparent, interoperable, and community-driven research infrastructures.
Secretary-General Jan Palmowski reflected:
“In the current geopolitical environment, the Barcelona Declaration on providing openness to research information is more critical than ever, because the governance of research infrastructures and the research information generated for public purposes must be open.”
The Guild’s participation highlights the growing role of international university networks as key actors in aligning institutional efforts and driving coordinated action across research systems. This is also reflected in the Barcelona Declaration’s governance.
It builds on and strengthens the Barcelona Declaration’s engagement with international networks, which includes organizations such as the EOSC Association, the Coimbra Group, the Young European Research Universities’ Network - YERUN, alongside networks beyond Europe, such as the West and Central African Research and Education Network - WACREN.
Reflecting on the role of international networks, Bianca Kramer, Executive Director of the Barcelona Declaration noted:
International networks bring together institutions from a different contexts that share the same values. They enable rich discussions, working towards shared goals and policy setting, and have the potential for strong collective advocacy. We are very happy the institutions represented in the Guild are supporting the decision of the Guild to sign the Barcelona Declaration, and look forward to working with the Guild to further the uptake and adoption of open research information.
This increasing engagement of international networks highlights the importance of aligning efforts across levels, from institutional implementation to coordination across networks, to advance open research information in practice.
We look forward to working with The Guild and advancing this shared agenda together.
See the full list of signatories and supporters: https://barcelona-declaration.org/signatories/