OSPARK Online: Ensuring your open science is seen, used, and sustained
Online
OSPARK Online Workshop
Co-organised by OLS and DRA, the OSPARK Bootcamp aims to support open science ambassadors to create visibility for their open science initiatives through outreach and marketing. It consists of a 6-week interactive online course and a two-day in-person workshop.
This workshop forms part of the OSPARK research programme. We are using the information we gather to inform the development of the OSPARK Bootcamp.
No prior communication or marketing experience needed — just bring your curiosity and commitment to supporting open and FAIR research.
What does this workshop involve?
This workshop will start with a ~1 hour training session on digital outreach, marketing, and communications for open science advocates. This will involve learning about key concepts and how you can apply them to your own open science initiative.
Whether you're involved in a library, IT service, data management team, research support office, or run your own local open science initiative, this workshop will help you:
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Understand common challenges in outreach and engagement
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Learn practical strategies for promoting research support services
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Explore examples of effective communication and community-building
The workshop will then move to ~1 hour discussion groups. You will be randomly placed into breakout rooms with 1-9 other participants and a facilitator. We will provide you with a notes template to help to guide your discussion. We hope to collect qualitative data about:
- your experiences of outreach activities for open science initiatives
- barriers to engaging in outreach activities
- your training needs in relation to outreach, marketing, and communications for open science initiatives
While data collection is an important part of the discussion group, we also hope that it will provide you with a space to connect with peers, exchange ideas, and learn from each other.
Where can I find more information about the research?
Please read the participant information sheet for this study before registering. It will provide you with more information about how and why the research is being conducted, including data sharing policies.
The full study protocol, materials, and data management plan are available on Zenodo.
What if I would rather join the full Bootcamp?
The first OSPARK Bootcamp course will start on 5th March 2026 and the onsite workshop will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 23-24 April 2026. Participation is free and a few travel stipends are available. For more information or to make your application before the 13th February 2026 deadline, see the event Indico page.
Organisers
The OSPARK Bootcamp is developed in collaboration of the Digital Research Academy and OLS and supported by the OSCARS consortium to strengthen open science capacity across Europe.
OSCARS is a four-year EU-funded project that strives to foster the uptake of Open Science in Europe by consolidating the achievements of world-class European research infrastructures in the ESFRI roadmap and beyond into lasting interdisciplinary FAIR data services and working practices. The project aims to strengthen the role of the Science Clusters in the ERA by developing domain-based Competence Centres and by fostering the implementation of Open Science projects funded through a cascading grant mechanism.