For CIVICA, Open Access means strengthening collaboration, transparency and impact across our European partner universities. We do this by making research outputs openly available, and by promoting shared infrastructures and practices. The libraries at CIVICA institutions are dedicated to Open Science, as it is central to our research culture.
We support barrier-free access to publications and data. Through policies, publishing agreements and research repositories, CIVICA institutions ensure that knowledge is openly accessible, thereby contributing to global academic exchange.
Open Access is about ensuring that research, data, and educational resources are freely available without financial, legal, or technical barriers. Although the concept originated in the 1970s, it gained significant momentum with the advent of the Internet and digital publishing in the 2000s, now evolving into a framework that is widely embraced by universities and research institutions.
Open Access at CIVICA
CIVICA’s resources on Open Access
OpenAIRE
CIVICA has partnered with OpenAIRE to increase the visibility of research, improve access to Open Science results and facilitate collaboration between its member institutions. By implementing the CONNECT Gateway, CIVICA has established a centralised research repository that complies with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles and supports the Alliance’s Open Science objectives. Explore the OpenAire database here.
Open Access Database
Our institutions have gathered various databases that have free educational and research resources that are open to the public. Discover CIVICA’s Open Access database here.
Open Science Communities
Our libraries and researchers work together to make knowledge open and accessible. By sharing publications, data and infrastructures, CIVICA’s open science communities support collaboration, transparency and the reuse of research across Europe and beyond. Check out our the Open Science communities at our institutions here.
Upcoming events, here.
Open Access at SNSPA
SNSPA contributes to the open access landscape in Romania through DSpace-based repositories and by publishing open access journals in political science and public affairs. In 2025, SNSPA also hosted the CIVICA Libraries Meeting, reinforcing its role as a hub for OA dialogue in the region. These efforts reinforce Romanian research visibility on the international Academia stage.
The Open Science Community at SNSPA promotes a transparent and collaborative academic culture that ensures research is accessible, reproducible and conducted with integrity. It advances open science principles and values to foster a cultural transformation at the university level creating a more inclusive, sustainable and collaborative academic ecosystem.
Community coordinator: Mihai Păunescu
Key activities
OSC@SNSPA launched in May 2025 with an inaugural workshop on 22 May, bringing together members of the core group behind this institution-wide initiative. Since then, the community has been developing an open science policy and strategy, a dedicated website and Facebook account, and the SNSPA Digital Repository for self-archiving publications and research data. Activities also include creating an Open Science Glossary, compiling free training resources, supporting researchers with data management plans and FAIR principles, and conducting studies on faculty attitudes toward open science, bibliometric trends, and alternative research metrics.
