Annual Report 2024–25

We champion openness in research and education, making knowledge accessible for all. Our progress in open scholarship spans resources, advocacy, publishing and partnerships – advancing global collaboration and shaping a fairer future. 

Open Research Hub 

The Open Research Hub is a comprehensive resource for explaining open research practices, concepts and terminology. Since launching in November 2024: 

• 2,894 page views 
• 1,115 active users 
• 221 colleagues engage in the Open Research Community of Practice. 

Championing open research 

We met with each of the 39 Directors of Research and Innovation to learn about and support them in their role of Open Research Champion. This process: 

• informed a report to the Open Research Group highlighting opportunities across schools 
• will inform the content of future advocacy sessions, training and resources. 

Open access to knowledge 

Our institutional repositories continue to make the knowledge we create openly available for all. This year we shared: 

• 6,121 research outputs (7.5% increase on last year) 
• 587 etheses 
• 120 datasets.

We support the open publishing of research outputs with: 

• 39 deals with publishers facilitating open publishing 
• 10 open access infrastructure initiatives supported.

Our Open Access Support Fund empowers our research community to navigate the complex open access landscape in a financially supported way. 

Opening the book on open books 

Our new Open Books Programme provides comprehensive guidance and support to enable tutors to produce open access etextbooks on the PressBooks platform. 

• 25 books already in production 

Sylla-brating open educational content 

Sylla is an innovative platform that surfaces open and affordable educational resources, to integrate into modules. A pilot between Sylla and the Libraries improved discoverability and engagement with open educational resources (OERs), saving cost and time whilst enhancing the student experience.