Open Research Steering Group

New Zealand’s universities are committed to the principles of open research and continues to grow open access content as part of a broader open research agenda. Open research enhances public access to publicly-funded scholarly work of universities, thereby increasing the appreciation for and the benefit of university research. Open research is also an important contributor to countering the rise and impact of misinformation and disinformation on society.   

Open Research Strategic Objectives

This Group’s objectives include:   

  1. To advance the state of open access in our libraries to increase the impact and reach of academic research published in our institutional repositories, open access journals and open educational resources, where appropriate (exceptions may include: commercial in confidence; culturally sensitive; research etc),   
  2. To contribute to an increase in open access of university scholarly outputs which will broaden the reach of New Zealand university outputs and foster open research culture,  
  3. To identify and communicate to universities open research-related risks for the New Zealand university sector and mitigate these where able and appropriate,  
  4. To help minimise the open research-related costs to universities by identifying and pursuing efficiencies,  
  5. Influence government agencies and relevant Ministers, as appropriate, to support to advance all other strategic objectives of the group, and  
  6. To enable future-proofing the university-system through undertaking regular horizon scanning and providing advice to universities to mitigate risks (e.g., retention of rights) and exploit opportunities.

Open Access Statement

As part of the Open Access Programme, Universities New Zealand—Te Pōkai Tara has released an Open Research Statement on behalf of New Zealand's eight universities. It acknowledges the rights of Māori and other indigenous groups to determine the appropriate avenues for their data and sets out the determination of member universities to continue to pursue open access.

Definition of Open Research

Open research encompasses a broad range of practices, including but not limited to open access, open educational resources, research data management, open data, open educational resources and open software, as well as an open research culture. Open access specifically refers to public access to all New Zealand university research outputs including publications and is consistent with the international trend for the open access of publicly funded research in other jurisdictions such as the European Union.

Open Access Steering Group

  • Professor Chad Hewitt (Chair), Provost, Lincoln University (UNZ Research Committee representative)
  • Professor Stuart Brock, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), University of Otago (UNZ Education Committee representative)
  • Ms Kim Tairi, University Librarian, AUT (Chair of CONZUL)
  • Ms Anna Rennie, Copyright Officer, The University of Auckland (Copyright Working Group)
  • Ms Michelle Blake, University Librarian, University of Waikato
  • Dr Bronwen Kelly, UNZ Deputy Chief Executive (Funding & Research)
  • Ms Kim Allan, UNZ Director Education
  • Ms Fiona Johnson-Bell, UNZ Senior Manager – Māori and Equity

 

Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara:

Key contact at UNZ: Dr Bronwen Kelly Deputy Chief Executive (Funding & Research)