Theme: One Network, Many Possibilities: Strengthening the OPERAS Community
Location: Warsaw, Poland | Dates: 18-21 May 2026
Introduction
Research infrastructures (RIs) are often visualised as a collection of servers, cables, and code. However, at its core, a research infrastructure is a boundary object: a multifaceted entity that sits at the intersection of different social worlds. It is the common ground where researchers, librarians, data stewards, publishers, policymakers, and engineers meet to cooperate despite their varying perspectives and needs.
In the OPERAS community, we understand that an infrastructure for Open Science is not merely a technical utility but a living network and hub of technology, people, and know-how. These infrastructures function by linking action across multiple scales – from the specific needs of a local research lab to national strategies, European frameworks (like EOSC), and global scholarly networks. Furthermore, they integrate the interests of the entire scholarly ecosystem – including researchers, publishers, libraries, media, and non-profit organisations – to form a scholarly-driven, inclusive, and dedicated infrastructure. This conference explores the “connective tissue” of our work. Building on the values of inclusion, scholarly-driven governance, and community interaction, we will discuss how RIs can address the structural and systemic challenges of the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH).
As Research Infrastructures grow and mature into formal organisational entities – such as the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) or other sustainable legal frameworks – they increasingly serve as critical conduits between the diverse communities they unite and the audiences they serve. The specific organisational form an RI adopts creates unique opportunities to facilitate “knowledge travel” across various epistemic cultures. It is through these varied organisational models – linking the grassroots innovation of localised initiatives with the institutional power of international entities – that Research Infrastructures act as essential enablers of science for the benefit of both scholars and society at large.
This conference is jointly organised by the OPERAS Research Infrastructure and the SCIROS project, both of which have been actively exploring the above issues within the Open Science landscape. OPERAS, an infrastructure for scholarly communication in SSH, has been growing for almost a decade and is planning to become a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) in the upcoming years. SCIROS, launched in 2024, brings a fresh and ambitious perspective, building a vibrant and diverse network of researchers and research-performing organisations devoted to deepening the understanding of Open Science, fostering new approaches to its theory, and strengthening the OS practices and infrastructure ecosystem through collaboration.
By bringing together the OPERAS ecosystem and the SCIROS research network, the conference creates a unique platform for the entire Open Science community to engage in reflection, dialogue, and knowledge exchange across theory, empirical study, and infrastructure development. In this way, the conference theme, “One network, many possibilities. Strengthening the OPERAS community,” comes to life, showing how a connected yet diverse network can expand opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth in Open Science.
Conference Priorities and Themes
We particularly welcome proposals that address the following priorities for an inclusive, researcher-driven infrastructure:
Meanings of Open Science: Boundary objects are entities that enable “cooperation without consensus”, while building a collective consensus often requires overcoming differences. What are the understandings of Open Science that different actors operate with? What are the tensions between these understandings? Which of the tensions requires overcoming?
Disciplinary Diversity: Supporting the publication and dissemination of specific SSH genres, such as monographs and critical editions. Acknowledging the specificity of SSH data, and sharing tools and workflows to adapt FAIR principles to the SSH.
Quality & Evaluation: Implementing evaluation and quality assurance practices tailored to the SSH that encourage rather than stifle innovation in scholarly communication and that move beyond opaque metrics toward transparent peer review, in line with the CoARA initiative.
Multilingualism and Bibliodiversity: Strategies to protect national infrastructures and promote local languages as valid media for scientific communication.
Scholarly Governance: Ensuring the infrastructure is governed by scholars and for scholars, a crucial factor for creating services that are truly productive and accessible.
Stakeholder Inclusion: Integrating the needs of the entire scholarly ecosystem, including publishers, libraries, media, and non-profit organisations.
