OpenFest 2026
OpenFest is our flagship celebration and exploration of open research. This year, OpenFest will take place 15th-18th September 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 online during 15th-18th September 2026, and 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.
We invite proposals for 20 minute papers, 10 minute lightning talks, panel discussions, online workshops, and creative proposals outside the usual paper/panel formats (e.g. videos, animations, zines and accompanying talks/discussions, creative outputs).
We welcome proposals from PGR and MRes students as well as more experienced researchers, research professionals, and those based outside academia.
Contributions may address, but are not restricted to, the following sub-themes:
Methodology and Participation
Participatory approaches such as co-design, citizen science, and community-based research.
- Collaborations with non-profit organizations and engagement of underrepresented groups in shaping research.
- Innovative strategies for integrating local knowledge and lived experience into open research processes.
Dissemination and Accessibility
- Practices for open access publications, open data, and open code.
- Communicating research in lay language to enhance public understanding and accessibility.
- Approaches that ensure outputs are usable by communities and diverse stakeholders.
Politics and Power
Examining local and global dynamics in open research.
- Research assessment frameworks.
- Issues of power, critique, and accountability.
- Addressing inequities and systemic barriers in the production and evaluation of open research.
Community Engagement
The civic and public role of universities.
- Building sustained relationships with communities, including historically underrepresented groups.
- Collaborative identification of research challenges, priorities, and questions.
- Evaluating the social and cultural impact of open research in specific places and populations.
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.
Submit your proposal
Please submit your proposal, using this online form, by midnight on 30th May 2026.