26 projects in the field of Open Science will receive from NWO a financial boost of up to 50,000 euros. One of them is the projects "iCRF Generator Extended Edition - Opening Interoperable Science (iCRF-OS)" of our AII researcher Jeroen Beliën.

The interchangeability of clinical data can be achieved by setting up case report forms (CRFs) and using international thesauri, such as SNOMED CT. However, this is complicated and time-consuming. With the iCRF Generator, standardised data definitions, such as the health information building blocks (ZIBs), can be reused to generate CRFs for various electronic data capture systems. The collected data is thus interoperable with other data using these standard definitions. In this project the iCRF Generator is extended with: 1) ODM export, the international standard for clinical trials; 2) support for alternative codebook sources; 3) improved user interface for codebook selection. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

There was great interest in this first round of the Open Science Fund. A total of 167 admissible applications were assessed, of which 26 were accepted. Visser: "In recent years, the interest in open science among researchers has really grown. We at NWO are trying to support this with the Open Science Fund. Not just by supporting innovative projects but - hopefully - also by providing much-needed recognition and appreciation through funding.

The Open Science Fund was launched last year by NWO. For this first round where now 26 projects are eligible for funding, a budget of over 1.2 million euros is available. A second round will be opened in the second half of 2022.

NWO has long been committed to the transition to Open Science. Publications resulting from NWO funding must therefore be available in Open Access. Research data generated during NWO projects should also be made available as openly as possible.

NWO is also committed to recognising and valuing open science practices, partly in the framework of the national recognition and appreciation programme. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)