In May 2026, Alice Howarth and Ruth Davies attended the Future of Open Research conference 2026 hosted by the PHIL_OS project led by Prof. Sabina Leonelli at Technical University of Munich to present, network and foster collaboration.

As expectations of open research are increasingly embedded in UK research and the UK Reproducibility Network’s Open Research Programme (to develop institutional skill, capacity and reward for open research practices) draws to a close by 2027, this was the perfect opportunity to engage with colleagues from across the globe to navigate what’s next for UKRN and for the future of open research.

The conference was split across the themes of infrastructures, data sharing and management, participation and engagement, scholarly communication and metrics with a thread of equity and justice running throughout. As the conference continued, some common themes became clear, with a strong focus on building judicious connections, balancing intention and principle with practice, avoiding end user-isation and working towards process-oriented practice (rather than object-oriented). We had the opportunity to discuss with colleagues about the importance of open research as it sits within the wider research context and the risk of reproducing flawed assumptions, the consequence of particular business models and the concerns around value extraction and the artificial urgency presented by AI.

Key outcomes included: the opportunity to develop the now published Munich Manifesto for Equitable Open Research; presenting our poster about EIAs as a tool for change; and identifying opportunities for further collaboration with colleagues. All of which will be invaluable to the next steps of the EDI work within UKRN.