Open Science (OS) as the “new normal” in scientific research is still to be achieved in many European countries, due to a combination of political and cultural factors, including the current research assessment framework, which reinforces the publish-or-perish culture by hindering shifting the focus from the output to the entire process (Horizon Europe, 2023; Giglia, 2026).

OS is a complex ecosystem – a “forest”, in the image by Francesca Di Donato (Di Donato, 2026) – in which every component is essential to nurture the system and make it thrive.

OS is not just about technology, tools and infrastructures: it is a cultural change centred on researchers’ behaviour, a step-by-step process which involves awareness, training, skills development and support. Researchers should acquire critical skills on the publishing system, get familiar with the FAIR principles, work reproducibly, be aware of copyright issues and legal aspects on data, introduce co-creation, pay attention to software, adopt innovative tools like open lab notebooks and open peer review, and start pre-registering and publishing pre-prints: easier said than done, when faced with time and policy constraints.

This “open diversity” is a richness, indeed, but at the same time it creates side effects: different practices are implemented in different communities, and can be supported by different professional teams, a variety that can disorient researchers in understanding what to prioritize in their journey. They might feel overwhelmed and negatively react to OS policies as the umpteenth administrative burden, missing its transformative potential. The fragmentation can also frustrate professionals, at risk of duplicating efforts and not being effective where needed.

“You are not alone” refers to the crucial role that the community can play thanks to networking and best practices sharing (Bertram et al., 2023), both among researchers, to mutually help overcoming the difficulties in the adoption of OS practices, and research professionals (data stewards, librarians) in discussing what worked and what did not in different realities.

We are presenting four Italian bottom-up initiatives, Open Science café (https://www.icdi.it/en/activities/competence-centre/open-science-cafe) dealing with awareness raising; Community of Italian Data Stewards (https://open-science.it/article?rpk=342454&prs_sel=p_datasteward&tpc_sel=t_gestione_dei_dati_della_ricerca) on FAIR data stewardship; Italian Reproducibility Network (https://www.itrn.org/) working on reproducibility, and the Open Science Community Torino (https://osc-international.com/osc-torino/) enabling mutual support among researchers.

We recognize that communities are not so effective unless they work in synergy, align initiatives, and avoid silos, hence we focus this presentation on switching from stand-alone communities to a “network of networks”, reflecting on possible interactions and imagining future closer collaborations.

The four communities can be explored in terms of their distinct characteristics and targets:

• Advocacy and awareness: the Open Science Café started in 2021, primarily focusing on researchers, to raise awareness on the basics of OS among the Italian community, then it grew as a tool to create a space to exchange views and to provide insights on the hot topics of the moment, covering OS from different perspectives – researchers in their daily workflow, economists, legal experts, AI experts, FAIR data management professionals, policy makers and funders. An online format, held once per month in Italian by national experts, it consists of live broadcasting a 30-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute question and answer time. All the Cafés are recorded and available on the GARR TV channel to maximise dissemination. The Café reached more than 5000 listeners and is highly appreciated as it is a quick format, tailored to the Italian reality, and offers time to debate and clarify doubts.
• FAIR data stewardship: the Community of Italian Data Stewards (CIDS) was established in 2023 to consolidate FAIR research data management (RDM) practices after a survey revealed the fragmented landscape of RDM support at the national level. As presented in its Manifesto (Caldoni et al. 2023), CIDS brings together RDM experts, in a bottom-up initiative and aims not only at raising awareness on responsible RDM as a scientific practice, but also at valorising and consolidating the role of data stewards, while defining professional profiles and competencies and promoting their institutional recognition and career development. CIDS provides a mailing list, with more than 170 members from diverse institutions and disciplinary backgrounds, and maximises peer-to-peer learning by organizing regular online webinars and annual/biannual in-person meetings.
• Reproducibility: the Italian Reproducibility Network (ITRN) is part of the wider Global Reproducibility Network. ITRN is a peer-led consortium that aims to investigate the factors that contribute to robust research and disseminate them within the Italian scientific community. This is achieved by both promoting local initiatives and acting as a community to get in touch, exchange ideas and good practices, in order to promote collective learning. ITRN serves as an intermediary layer through a network of experts available to national academic and research institutions. It supports the co-creation of Open Science training and educational activities, provides specialized helpdesk assistance, such as for research data and code sharing and reviews deliverables and documentation to meet funding agencies’ Open Science requirements.
• Peer-to-peer exchange: the Open Science Community Torino (OSCT) was launched in 2025. It is a grassroots organization, not officially sponsored by any institution, gathering researchers, technicians, data stewards, and citizens coming from the four largest research performing organisations in the region (Università di Torino, Politecnico di Torino, Istituto Italiano di Ricerca Metrologica, and Università del Piemonte Orientale), as well as from private companies and the wider public. OSCT is connected to the wider International Network of Open Science Communities (INOSC), sharing practices and knowledge also with international partners. The initiative aims to foster the adoption of Open, Reproducible, and Transparent science practices, structured around four key pillars reflected in its acronym: Organise the OS movement, Support researchers interested in OS, Connect them to share methods and best practices, and Train anyone interested in how OS can improve research. OSCT organizes “Open Science pills”, inspired by the Open Science café format, and featuring local experts and topics. It also participates in local events like the “European Researchers’ Night”. OSCT also prepared a MOOC on OS, and created a “Publish or perish” card game (Stura, 2025), used in training and outreach initiatives.

The four communities gathered together during the fifth in-person event organized by CIDS (Turin, November 2025), titled “A network of networks”, which triggered the strengthening of synergies, by coordinating initiatives, creating interconnections among experts, and building bridges. This is our way of giving “You are not alone” a meaning for all the people involved in the step-by-step journey towards OS.

To move from stand-alone initiatives to an interconnected effort, our four communities are developing practical forms of collaboration aimed at reducing fragmentation and creating a more coherent Open Science support ecosystem at the national level. We are mapping target audiences, training formats, and thematic areas to identify complementarities and avoid duplication of effort. We share resources produced by each community across all networks, foster cross-community exchanges of speakers and expertise, and co-design webinars, training activities, and events. By connecting complementary competencies and support structures, we aim to provide researchers with clearer pathways for engaging with Open Science practices and to strengthen the collective impact of community-driven initiatives.