Open science – understood as transparent, accessible, and collaborative knowledge production – is increasingly recognised as a cornerstone of resilient and trustworthy research systems. In Ukraine, its implementation is closely tied to post-war recovery, where reproducible and credible research is essential for innovation, international integration, and evidence-based policymaking. The Open4UA project, coordinated by Lviv Polytechnic National University, directly supports the implementation of the National Open Science Plan (2022) by advancing systemic reform of research practices, evaluation, and infrastructure in alignment with European frameworks.

This presentation examines how the Open4UA project translates open science principles into coordinated, evidence-based reform at multiple levels of the research system. Drawing on survey data from over 24,000 respondents across Ukrainian higher education institutions (2021–2023), the project identifies persistent barriers to open science, including lack of recognition, limited skills, insufficient infrastructure, and resource constraints—further exacerbated by the ongoing war. In response, Open4UA adopts a metascience-informed approach, using empirical evidence to guide cultural and institutional change.

The project is structured around three core objectives. First, it supports national legislative reform by contributing to the development of a draft law on open science. Second, it advances responsible research assessment in line with CoARA principles, including the development of open databases of funded research projects and new evaluation criteria for research funding and institutional certification. Third, it supports institutional transformation through practical tools, policies, and pilot actions that embed open science practices into everyday research workflows. Recent policy developments, including the introduction of performance-based research funding in Ukraine in 2026, demonstrate the increasing alignment between national governance reforms and the recommendations developed through Open4UA.

A central pillar of this transformation is the combination of mature repository infrastructures with professional data stewardship. European and national infrastructures — including EOSC, OpenAIRE, Zenodo, and emerging national data services — provide the technical and organisational backbone for FAIR data management, interoperability, visibility, and long-term preservation. However, infrastructure alone does not create open science practice. Data experts — including data stewards, repository managers, and research support professionals — are essential for translating open science principles into institutional routines. They support data management planning, metadata standardisation, researcher training, reproducibility practices, repository use, and compliance with funder and policy requirements. Their role is particularly important in systems facing fragmented infrastructures, uneven institutional capacity, and disruption caused by war.

Open4UA places strong emphasis on international collaboration as a catalyst for capacity building and policy learning. Workshops such as those held in Ljubljana and Delft bring together Ukrainian stakeholders with established European open science communities, including experts connected to the Slovenian Social Science Data Archives. These engagements facilitate exchange on repository governance, FAIR data implementation, and reproducibility practices, functioning as co-creation spaces for adapting proven models to the Ukrainian context.

The project’s findings highlight that open science is inseparable from research integrity, reproducibility, and research assessment reform. Accordingly, Open4UA promotes a shift away from narrow bibliometric indicators toward narrative CVs, diversified academic career paths, and inclusive, sustainable research cultures. It also supports early-career researchers, displaced institutions, and citizen science initiatives, while fostering communities such as the Ukrainian Reproducibility Network to sustain grassroots momentum.

By demonstrating how infrastructure, expertise, policy reform, and international collaboration interact, this presentation offers transferable insights for countries facing structural and cultural barriers to open science. It highlights how coordinated, evidence-based approaches can enable gradual but systemic transformation toward more transparent, reproducible, and globally integrated research ecosystems.