What Is Open Research? Reflections from OHRIN Webinar 1
On 25 March 2026, the Open Health Research Ireland Network (OHRIN) hosted its first webinar, What Is Open Research?, bringing together colleagues from across health and social care to explore the meaning of open research, the barriers practitioners face in publishing, and the kinds of support that are most needed by researcher-practitioners.
You can view the video on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/1183744375?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
The webinar was led by myself, Dr Chris Loughnane, Research Fellow and Open Health Research Engagement Officer for OHRIN, Laura Rooney Ferris, Deputy Head Content Management & Open Scholarship: Acquisitions & Metadata at Trinity College Dublin Library, and Dr Gemma Moore of the HSE’s Quality & Patient Safety Directorate. Together, we set out both the wider open research landscape and the specific challenges faced by health and social care practitioners who want to share their work more openly.
A key theme of the session was that open research is about far more than simply making journal articles free to read. As Laura explained, open research has developed over the past two decades from the earlier language of open access into a much broader ecosystem. It now includes not only open publications, but also open data, open methods, open educational resources, and wider questions of transparency, accessibility, reuse, and collaboration across the research lifecycle. In the Irish context, the term ‘open research’ is often preferred because it is broader and more inclusive across disciplines than ‘open science.’
Laura also outlined some of the main publishing routes within this ecosystem. Gold open access makes the final published version of an article immediately and freely available online, but usually requires the payment of article processing charges. Green open access offers another route, allowing authors to deposit versions of their work in institutional or subject repositories, though often with embargoes or publisher restrictions. Diamond open access, however, offers a different model again, notably no fees for authors and no fees for readers. Because it removes financial barriers on both sides, diamond open access is becoming increasingly important in conversations about equity, inclusion, and the future of scholarly communication.
This question of inequality in publishing is central. While universities may benefit from transformative agreements that combine reading access with paid publishing opportunities, many practitioners working in health and social care outside academic institutions do not have access to those arrangements. As a result, they can find themselves excluded from established publishing routes despite producing valuable research, evaluations, and practice-based knowledge.
Gemma then turned to the health service context more specifically, outlining the current HSE research environment and the supports that already exist, including the HSE Library, the Lenus repository, regional ethics structures, and emerging research hubs. She also highlighted the uneven distribution of research support across the system. Research in health and social care is often conducted alongside already demanding professional workloads, and many practitioners do not have the dedicated research time, academic affiliation, funding, or writing support that are more common in university settings.
These challenges were reinforced by our research and survey findings I presented during the webinar. Respondents came from a wide range of professional backgrounds, including research and policy, general practice, nursing, pharmacy, management, and other health and social care roles. While many had some awareness of open research, levels of experience varied considerably, and most respondents reported no access to financial support for publishing through their organisations.
At the same time, the survey showed strong demand for support. A large majority of respondents expressed interest in joining an open research network, and many identified publishing in open formats, access to a free open access journal for practitioners, training on publishing processes, and opportunities for peer support as priorities. These findings speak directly to OHRIN’s purpose. The project is being developed to reduce barriers to research dissemination by combining practical training, community support, and publishing pathways in one place.
I also outlined what OHRIN aims to offer in response. This includes a dedicated website, training and workshops, guidance for first-time authors, a growing national community of practice, and a diamond open access journal for health and social care practitioner-researchers. The intention is not only to create a new journal, but to build a broader support structure around it that helps people move from local practice-based inquiry or conference presentations towards publishable outputs, while also providing a venue where that work can be shared openly without author charges.
This matters for more than publishing alone. Open research is also about visibility, fairness, and impact, ensuring that publicly valuable research can reach frontline staff, patients, service users, and wider communities, rather than remaining locked behind paywalls or constrained by limited institutional support. In health and social care especially, where practitioner knowledge is often developed close to the professional realities of care, widening access to publication can also widen access to insight and improvement.
The final part of the session invited participants to shape what comes next. Poll responses suggested strong interest in future sessions on how to submit to the new journal, understanding its scope and aims, and training on open research practices more broadly. Participants also highlighted the need for practical supports such as writing help, dedicated time, mentorship, and financial assistance. While OHRIN cannot solve every structural issue, it is part of a practical response to building community, lowering barriers, and creating new routes for practitioner knowledge to be shared.