Open science is the practice of making research results accessible: open access publications, FAIR data, transparent methodology. In Horizon Europe open access to publications is mandatory, and the quality of open science practices is assessed directly under the Excellence criterion.
Open science in Horizon Europe is not a declaration but part of an award criterion. The soundness of the methodology is assessed together with "the quality of open science practices", so a weak approach here costs Excellence points.
Two different requirements
Publications – open access is mandatory. Peer-reviewed publications arising from the project must be openly accessible, and the costs are eligible – but only for fully open venues.
Data – "as open as possible, as closed as necessary". This is not a requirement to open everything: restrictions for personal data, commercial confidentiality or security are legitimate – but they must be named and justified, not passed over in silence.
The instrument for managing this is the data management plan, a mandatory deliverable of the first six months, updated thereafter.
FAIR is not the same as open
FAIR principles mean data can be found, accessed, integrated and reused. Data can be FAIR and still restricted: what matters is not publicity but that the description, identifiers and access conditions are clear.
What to budget for
Open access publishing costs money, and it must be budgeted realistically. The guidance explicitly names "a realistic estimate of open access costs" among the things the resources section must set out.
Updated 27.07.2026 · Reviewed by: GetGrant editorial team
