OpenFest 2026

Co-delivered by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, OpenFest is our flagship celebration and exploration of open research. 

2026 marks the fifth OpenFest event, and as ever we are committed to showcasing, interrogating, and advancing open research practices. 

This year’s OpenFest will take place in person and online on Tuesday 15th September (Strines Building, Sheffield Hallam University) and online Wednesday 16th, Thursday 17th, and Friday 18th September 2026. The theme for 2026 is “Open Research: People and Place”. The event will explore how open research is shaped by communities, geographic contexts, and organizational practices, highlighting innovative methodologies, inclusive dissemination, and the social and political dimensions of openness.  

Programme and registration

We're delighted to welcome Dr Madeleine Pownall, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Leeds, as our keynote speaker. In her keynote, "Who Built Open Research? Reclaiming the Intellectual Lineage of Openness," Dr Pownall will explore the histories, ideas and people that have shaped the open research movement, encouraging us to think critically about whose voices and contributions are recognised. Her research focuses on making psychology more open, inclusive and socially responsible, with interests spanning open research practices, higher education, gender equity and the public understanding of science. Working at the intersection of psychological science, research culture and educational practice, she examines how the structures of academia influence who participates in research and whose knowledge is valued.

We're also pleased to welcome The River Dôn Project (SHU) and the Wellcome Anti-Ableist Research Cultures (WAARC) project (University of Sheffield) in conversation about citizen science and collaborative inquiry.

The River Dôn Project is a long-term initiative exploring how people, communities and institutions can collectively understand, care for and shape the future of the River Dôn and its wider bioregion. The River Dôn Project is developing new forms of citizen stewardship and environmental intelligence that bring together scientific data, citizen science, and local knowledge through stories, poems and pictures. A South Yorkshire Citizens’ Observatory with Open Data at its core, a shared civic infrastructure through which people can participate in sensing, understanding, and responding to changes across the river system. At the heart of the work is a question about openness, people and place: what happens when knowledge about a place is not simply produced for communities, but created, interpreted and stewarded with them?

Wellcome Anti-Ableist Research Cultures is a major initiative bringing disabled people to the front and centre of research culture work through collaborative inquiry. Among other projects, the WAARC team have collaborated with Disabled People's Organisations to understand and address the research priorities of disabled people, identified recommendations for smoothing the bureaucratic and administrative processes of engaging non-academic partners in collaborative research, experimented with new ideas for inclusive recruitment and employment, and inclusive research methods training, explored how the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers can more effectively support the needs and research aspirations of disabled researchers, and promoted more inclusive disability research activity at the University of Sheffield.

View the full programme of papers, lightning talks and workshop here.

Register to attend sessions using this sign up form.

This year, we invited proposals on the following sub-themes: 

Organisations, Skills, and Resources

• Developing the skills, capacities, and infrastructure necessary to conduct inclusive open research. 

• Securing funding and institutional support for participatory and community-driven projects.
• Managing collaborations between academic institutions, non-profits, and community partners.