Open science practices at Centria University of Applied Sciences

Centria's strategy 2025-2028 aims to

• Centria is committed Declaration for Open Science and Research  and accordingly
  • promote the national goals for open science and research defined jointly by the research community as part of their own strategy and guidance work, taking into account the specific characteristics of their organization
  • support and encourage the daily work of the actors in their organization to achieve the goals and objectives of the policies supporting the declaration
• Centria promotes openness Policies for open science and research in Finland by opening up its operating culture, research materials and methods, publications, and learning and learning materials.

• Strengthening expertise in responsible and ethical practices in open RDI activities.

• Centria University of Applied Sciences signed an agreement on reforming research evaluation and joined the coalition for promoting research evaluation CoARA:n (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) as a member 9th June 2023. 

  • We strive to ensure that the evaluation of research and researchers takes into account different research outputs, methods, and interactions, considering different career paths and individual circumstances when assessing the quality and impact of research.

    CoARA Action Plan 2024-2027 Centria University of Applied Sciences (zenodo.org)

• Our operations are open, fair, and supportive of others. We communicate actively, openly, and diversely about our operations.

Implementing openness in accordance with Centria's RDI guidelines

• RDI activities must be as open as possible and as secure as necessary. As a rule, all research materials, results, and outputs are shared and open. Research materials refer to materials produced, modified, and used in RDI activities, on which the results and outputs of the activities are based.

• Openness is governed by legislation,  good data management practices, research ethics principles (TENK Good Scientific Practice and Handling Allegations of Misconduct in Finland), funding conditions and agreements relating to RDI activities, and Centria's guidelines and regulations. Research data and publications related to research results produced and published with public funding are always open by default. However, agreements, legislation, and research ethics principles must be taken into account, and Centria's interests must not be jeopardized.

• Centria offers a data management infrastructure where research data can be stored and described in accordance with common processes and models. The protection, information security, and data protection of identifiable data and data containing confidential and sensitive information must be ensured.

• Decisions regarding the ownership and usage rights of data generated in RDI activities should be made as early as possible. The results of contract research belong to Centria to the extent required by legislation, funding terms, or agreements related to the project (Act on the Right in Inventions Made at Higher Education Institutions 369/2006).

• Openness is supported through tools and services that facilitate data management, use, accessibility, and exploitation, as well as through communication and training. Centria ensures sufficient expertise and clear responsibilities. Any costs arising from the opening of results and data are taken into account already at the project planning stage.

• Everyone at Centria involved in RDI is responsible for ensuring that their work supports open RDI practices.

RDI Process Model

Openness can be promoted at every stage of the RDI process. The following model highlights the key aspects that should be considered at each phase to support and ensure openness throughout the process.

1. Preparation: Planning data management for the entire project lifecycle, based on funders’ requirements, agreements with partners, Centria’s guidelines, as well as good scientific practice and legislation.

2. Implementation: Data management activities during the project, such as data collection, organization, storage, analysis, data security, and data protection.

3. Results Management: Actions taken after the project ends, such as data preservation, storing metadata (descriptive information), and ensuring the discoverability of the data.

4. Opening and Publishing Results: Opening research data, handling identifiable data, citing data, open publishing, assigning persistent identifiers, and licensing.

5. From Open RDI to Business: Utilizing the commercial potential of project results.

Source: Päällysaho, S. & Latvanen, J.
Avoimen TKI-toiminnan prosessimalli. @SeAMK 8.3.2017.

Centria is committed to promoting openness in research, development, and innovation (RDI) by integrating transparency, collaboration, and accessibility into all project phases. The development of open RDI activities focuses on creating practices that enable sharing of knowledge, results, and methods with partners, businesses, and society.

This approach strengthens innovation ecosystems, supports sustainable growth, and ensures that research outcomes benefit a wider audience. Key elements include open project preparation, implementation, result management, and publishing, as well as fostering business opportunities from open RDI.