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OpenAIRE Innovation

Turn open research into products, services and tools

OpenAIRE Innovation connects researchers, public innovators, startups and industry with Europe's trusted open science infrastructure. Innovate for Open Science, or innovate with it: one goal, open knowledge that creates value for everyone.
Choose your way in
Open calls
innovation.openaire.eu

Two ways to innovate

Choose the strand that fits you. Both share the same infrastructure, principles and open calls, and many participants take part in both.
Strand 1

Innovate for Open Science

New tools, indicators, services and practices that make open science work better. For researchers, research infrastructures, citizen science, civic tech, universities and public bodies.

  • Innovation pilots and hackathons
  • Innovation Labs on open data, indicators and AI
  • Training, community and challenge calls
Strand 2

Innovate with Open Science

Products, services and AI built on open research data, through trusted partnerships that give back to the commons. For AI developers, publishers, data platforms, analytics firms and startups.

  • Data partnerships and pilots
  • Co-developed services and indicators
  • Compliance and policy sandbox

Why OpenAIRE

A trusted, open research infrastructure with the assets, the people and the mandate to drive innovation that serves everyone.

A trusted research infrastructure

70+ members from all European countries, reaching institutional and national infrastructures, with outreach to the world.

The OpenAIRE Graph

Quality, breadth and depth: 400M+ linked records from 10,000+ sources, connected, deduplicated and open.

A team that takes you along

Experts in data, AI, open science, policy and law who guide you from first idea to working service.

At the heart of European open science

Part of European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and Resource for AI in Science (RAISE).
Why innovate with OpenAIRE

70+

members across Europe

400M+

linked research records

10,000+

data sources

15

services

40+

countries

Four ways to take part

Common to both strands. Start with one, and grow into the others: everyone who uses open knowledge can also contribute to it.

Use

Integrate trusted data, APIs and services into your products and research.
The OpenAIRE Graph · Indicators on impact · Services and tools

Co-create

Build new tools, standards and intelligence services with our teams.
Innovation pilots · Co-developed indicators · Shared standards for research data

Contribute

Give back data, tools and evidence that strengthen open science for everyone.
Open data and metadata for the Graph · Open-source tools from joint work · Evidence that informs Open Science policy

Grow

Build skills to work with open data responsibly and lawfully.
OpenPlato courses and bootcamps · Guidance on the AI Act and data law · FAIR certification support
See what we offer in detail
How to take part

Innovators already building on OpenAIRE data and services

Turning DSpace repositories into two-way, infrastructure-ready nodes
Co-developing OpenCDMP, the open-source platform behind ARGOS
AI gateway that connects assistants and agents to the Graph
AI-driven foresight for STI policy and R&D
Meet our innovation partners

Value flows both ways

Partners create value from open research, and give back to the commons.

Clear principles

Every collaboration, with a university, a startup or a global company, rests on the same foundations: what we bring, and where we draw the line.

Our starting point

  • Openness by default
  • Reciprocity and mutual benefit
  • Commitment to our members and the commons
  • Interoperability and open standards

Where we draw the line

  • Full compliance with EU law: AI Act, DSM, DGA, GDPR
  • Explicit provenance, licensing and reuse rights
  • No new silos and no lock-in on open data
  • The commons must benefit, not only the partner

Open calls

Apply to innovation pilots, challenge calls and collaborative projects. Selected participants receive support, coaching and mentoring from OpenAIRE experts.

Innovation Pilots & Hackathons 2026

4 calls running or upcoming
For researchers, civic tech initiatives and startups with ideas that use the OpenAIRE Graph for real-world impact. Opens Q2 2026.
See all calls

Let's build something together

Tell us what you are working on, in research, public innovation or industry.
Get involved