How I help / Research culture and open research
Research culture that changes in practice, not just in policy.
SPRE in REF 2029, the SEP and CoARA all ask for evidence that your strategy and support for researchers work in practice, not just on paper. I help universities and research institutes close the gap between what the strategy says and what people do.
Where universities get stuck
The problems I’m most often asked about.
- Your strategy says the right things. Practice hasn’t caught up.
- SEP or SPRE is coming, and nobody agrees what evidence counts.
- Recognition and rewards can't agree what is important across disciplines.
What I offer
Fixed fees wherever possible, agreed before we start.
SEP and SPRE readiness reviews
Where you stand, what evidence you already have and what to start collecting now.
Recognition and rewards (Erkennen en Waarderen), and CoARA
Criteria that reward open and responsible research while respecting each discipline’s norms.
Culture change programmes and training
For research leaders, research offices and doctoral colleges, built on how behaviour really changes.
Retained open research advisor
A set number of days a month as your external advisor, from strategy to Horizon Europe bids.
Selected work
Research culture and open research
From good intentions to university policy.
At Erasmus University Rotterdam: mandatory open science training for every PhD candidate, and ways to recognise and reward open science that respect each discipline’s norms.
Read the case studySportRxiv
Founded in 2016 and launched in 2017: a free, open archive for sport and exercise research.
STORK
Former Executive Chair of the Society for Transparency, Openness and Replication in Kinesiology.
Brian Nosek, Center for Open Science
“Without John, it is difficult to imagine that the field would be as well-positioned as it is for advancing open science.”
How it works
Get in touch.
Tell me what you’re working on. If I’m not the right person, I’ll say so.
Get a plan.
We talk it through, then I send a short written plan and a fixed price. No surprises.
See what changes.
We design, deliver and evaluate it together.
Questions
Why focus on culture rather than policy?
Because research reform is a culture problem. Incentive structures and existing norms shape how each discipline approaches research, so a new policy on its own changes very little. Making research more trustworthy takes a whole-university approach.
What is SPRE in REF 2029?
Strategy, People and Research Environment (SPRE) replaces the environment statement from REF 2021 and is worth 20% of each unit’s score. It asks for evidence of your strategy, how you support people and your research environment, from August 2020 to July 2028.
What is the SEP?
The Strategy Evaluation Protocol (SEP) is how Dutch universities and research institutes evaluate their research every six years. The protocol for 2021 to 2027 asked units to cover open science, PhD policy, academic culture and HR policy, and the new protocol for 2027 to 2033 has just been published.
What is CoARA?
The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment is an international agreement, signed by hundreds of organisations, to assess research on its quality and impact rather than journal metrics alone. Signatories commit to reforming how they recognise and reward researchers.
How do you get researchers to change how they work?
Through my OPEN model, which I developed for open and responsible science at Erasmus University Rotterdam: open minds, provide training, embed knowledge, and normalise and reinforce. How the model is applied is different at every institution. See how OPEN works.
Getting ready for SEP, SPRE or CoARA? Let’s talk.
Tell me where you are with SPRE, the SEP or CoARA, and what’s getting in the way.
Send me a message