OHRIN Webinar 1: What is Open Research?
The Open Health Research Ireland Network (OHRIN) is launching a new webinar series aimed at supporting health and social care practitioners who want to engage with research and publishing in an open and accessible way. The first session, What is Open Research?, will introduce the key principles behind open research and explore why these approaches are becoming increasingly important for practitioners across the health and social care landscape.
Open research refers to a set of practices designed to make research more transparent, accessible and collaborative. These practices can include open access publishing, sharing research data, improving transparency in research methods, and enabling wider participation in knowledge creation. For practitioners working in healthcare and social settings, open research has the potential to improve the transmission of evidence into practice, strengthen collaboration across health and social care organisations, and make research findings more visible and usable for the general public and other professionals.
This introductory webinar will provide an overview of what open research means in practice and why it matters for those working in applied health and social care contexts. The session will also explore some of the practical opportunities and challenges practitioners encounter when engaging with research and publishing. Issues such as time constraints, access to publishing support, concerns around data sharing, and navigating the open publishing landscape will be discussed, with a focus on how these barriers can be addressed.
A key aim of the session is to introduce the work of the Open Health Research Ireland Network and outline the supports that the network is developing for the community. OHRIN is working to build a collaborative environment for practitioners and researchers interested in open approaches to health research. Planned supports include training opportunities, community engagement activities, and the development of a forthcoming Diamond Open Access journal designed specifically to support practitioners who wish to publish their work without author-facing publication fees.
The webinar will also provide an opportunity for participants to contribute to shaping the future direction of the network. Attendees will be invited to share their perspectives on what kinds of training, resources, and supports would be most valuable for practitioners who are interested in engaging with open research.
The session will be hosted by Laura Rooney Ferris (Trinity College Dublin), Dr Gemma Moore (HSE), and Dr Chris Loughnane (OHRIN), who will introduce the network, discuss the wider context of open research in Ireland, and facilitate discussion with participants.
Date: Wednesday, 25 March 2026
Time: 3:00–4:00 PM
To register visit: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/open-health-research-ireland-network-ohrinwebinar-what-is-open-research-tickets-1984397672858?aff=oddtdtcreator
This webinar is intended for clinicians, health and social care practitioners, researchers, and anyone interested in learning more about how open research practices are shaping the future of knowledge sharing in health and social care.
Image credits:
1: UNESCO https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_science_pillars.png
2: University of Cape Town https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/UCT_RDM_Why-Open-Science.png
