Under the Open Access Policy for Scientific Information and Research Data, Chile’s National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) is strengthening open science capacities across national universities. This initiative improves the visibility, availability, and reuse of scientific knowledge and research data generated through public funding.
Through the proposal “Intelligent Ecosystem for the Management, Interoperability, and Openness of Scientific Knowledge,” the University of Santiago (Usach) has been awarded the InES Open Science Competitive Renewal 2025. This project aims to consolidate the progress made during 2021–2024 by integrating AI tools, international data standards, and open technologies to project the university's research capabilities into the future.
Dr. Pablo Donoso, Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and Creation at Usach, noted that this award solidifies the University’s role as a leader in Chilean Open Science. He emphasized that as a public institution, Usach ensures that publicly funded knowledge delivers a direct social impact. By promoting transparency and collaboration, the university is fostering equitable access to global scientific information.
This milestone reinforces Usach's systematic progress in Open Science governance, regulations, and infrastructure. Dr. Pablo Donoso, Vice-Rector for Research, stated that the project will professionalize data management by integrating international standards. This alignment ensures that innovation and technology transfer generated with public resources remain at the service of society’s comprehensive development.
More Visible, Reusable, and Useful Knowledge
The project promotes an institutional open science model through three core pillars. It prioritizes human capital via specialized Data Stewardship programs and advances AI innovation for smart visualization in DSpace-CRIS. Additionally, it focuses on infrastructure interoperability, integrating ANID standards and Dataverse certification to enhance the institutional quality management system for scientific data.
In practical terms, this strategy will improve the way the university organizes, safeguards, and makes its scientific output available, facilitating access to publications and research data, directly supporting the work of researchers, and ensuring that the knowledge generated is more visible, reusable, and useful for both the scientific community and society.
To ensure long-term impact, the project will institutionalize responsible research evaluation and boost open access to scientific data. Through the international certification of its platforms, Usach is building a robust scientific knowledge management ecosystem that fulfills its public role and aligns with global open science benchmarks.
Institutional Implementation
Over the next three years, Usach’s VRIIC will execute this project through its Data, Statistics, and Systems Unit. Under the leadership of Rodrigo Orellana and Tania Aldunate, the initiative brings together key institutional actors, including Strategic IT, the Quality Assurance Unit, and the Academic Vice-Rector’s Library, to drive Open Science innovation and faculty-wide data integration.
"As a team, we have been working in this area for several years, so this award is a key opportunity to consolidate that effort," stated Rodrigo Orellana. "Our challenge is to transform open science into concrete, sustainable solutions for researchers. By strengthening scientific information management and platform interoperability, we are ensuring the adoption of global best practices across the entire university."