Two new national Reproducibility Networks have been launched in Georgia and Ukraine with support from the TIER2 project – a step towards strengthening open, transparent, and high-quality research practices in Horizon Europe Widening participation countries.
The TIER2 Reproducibility Network (RN) Award supported the creation of three RNs in Horizon Europe Widening Participation countries. In 2023 and 2024, research consortia from Georgia, Ukraine, and Serbia were selected through two open award calls, recognising their strong engagement in advancing Open Science and reproducibility, research integrity, and collaboration.
The Georgian Reproducibility Network (GeoRN) held its official kick-off meeting on 18 June 2025 at Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU). The event brought together researchers, institutional leaders, and international partners for discussions on reproducibility practices and the future of Open Science in the region. Tony Ross-Hellauer, coordinator of the TIER2 project, delivered a keynote talk titled "Collaborating for Reproducibility".
The network is led by TSMU in partnership with Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and Caucasus International University. The GeoRN aims to serve as a national hub for strengthening research quality and collaboration. It will support early career researchers, provide training in reproducibility practices, and support Georgian institutions to increase their visibility and participation in international scientific initiatives.
The Ukrainian Reproducibility Network (UARN) held its founding meeting earlier, on 22 November 2024, during the Ukrainian Open Science Forum (UOSF 2024) at Lviv Polytechnic National University, organised by the OPTIMA project. A total of 26 researchers from across the country, including from Cherkasy, Dnipro, Kherson, Kryvyi Rih, Kyiv, Lutsk, Lviv, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, and Zhytomyr, became its founding members.
The event featured a keynote presentation by Professor Marcus Munafò from the University of Bristol and Executive Director of the UK Reproducibility Network, titled "Going Further Together: Fostering Collaborative Approaches through National Reproducibility Networks".
The UARN also hosts a dedicated Facebook page where researchers, scientists, and professionals can connect, collaborate, and share knowledge.
With the establishment of the Georgian and Ukrainian Reproducibility Networks, participating institutions are laying the foundation for more trustworthy, collaborative, and impactful research environments.
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TIER2 receives funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101094817.
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