The program Returns (Návraty; Czech only) from the Johannes Amos Comenius Programme (P JAC), implemented at Charles University as Returns at the CU, is focused on supporting researchers returning after a career break. The aim is to help ensure that career breaks due to maternity/parental leave, long-term illness, or long-term care do not result in the termination or significant slowdown of professional advancement.
In the specific section of the Rules for Applicants and Recipients (Czech only), you will find information on the conditions for grant funding related to open science (pp. 22-24). Managing authority has also published a detailed Handbook of Open Science Practices (Czech only). The key source document for the implementation of the call within Charles University is the grant scheme (Czech only), which places the information in a university context and specifies the rules for applicants at Charles University.
A mandatory condition for funding a grant is the application of the basic principles of open science as an approach to the scientific process based on open collaboration and the effective dissemination of knowledge.
The grant rules set out mandatory open science parameters, which must be clearly fulfilled in order for the grant to be funded. The mandatory open science practises in P JAK Returns are:
Open access to peer-reviewed scientific publications resulting from research funded under the project.
Research data management according to FAIR principles and open access to such data in accordance with the principle of "as open as possible, as closed as necessary".
The recipient is obliged to ensure open access to peer-reviewed scientific publications by the following means:
Storing a machine-readable electronic final publisher version or final version of a peer-reviewed manuscript accepted for publication (i.e., in a version incorporating comments arising from the peer review process) in a trusted repository (e.g., the Charles University repository) without undue delay after the date of publication.
Ensuring immediate open access to the stored publication with the possibility of further reuse under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license or, in the case of monographs, under the terms of its variants with restrictions: CC BY-NC 4.0, CC BY-ND 4.0, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Protecting copyrights to such an extent that it is possible to comply with the stipulated obligations.
Ensuring open access to machine-readable metadata for the publications stored in the repository so that they are in line with the General Recommendations for Meta-data Description (Czech only).
Providing information (via the repository) on any other research output or any other tools needed to validate the conclusions of a scientific publication.
The recipient is required to always store a machine-readable electronic copy of the publisher version or the final peer-reviewed version (author accepted manuscript, postprint) in a trusted repository without undue delay after the date of publication by the publisher.
In addition, the beneficiary is required to ensure immediate open access to the stored publication under the terms of the last accessible version of the public licence Creative Commons Attribution International (CC BY); monographs and other long-text formats may be accessed under the terms of a public licence excluding modification of the publication or its commercial use (e.g., CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC-ND). In order to comply with this requirement, the author must ensure sufficient protection of the copyrights (e.g., by selecting a publisher that will enable fulfilment of the conditions or by negotiating an amendment to the contract with the publisher). Fulfilling the obligation of immediate open access is possible both through the publisher (gold OA), and through the repository (green OA).
Good news: Funds for covering open access fees (Article Processing Charge, APC) are recognized costs and are allocated separately, so they do not need to be planned within the budgets of individual projects.
Token issues: If APC fees are financed from grant funds (as is the case with P JAK Returns) it is not possible to use tokens according to the Rules for the allocation of the tokens. Some publishers (e.g., Springer and Taylor & Francis) do not offer a choice of payment upon acceptance of an article; therefore, open access is automatically selected and a token is allocated. In such cases, you must immediately inform the Central Library (openaccess@cuni.cz) that you have grant funding and request that the token be rejected.
PLEASE NOTE: In order to fulfil these conditions, the publication must always be stored in a repository, even if you have arranged open access through the publisher (gold OA).
TIP: As proof that the funding provider requires publication of outputs under a CC BY license, you can use this Open Science Policy document from the P JAK website when communicating with the publisher.
TIP: Recommendations for ensuring open access to publications can be found in the Handbook of Open Science Practices (Czech only).
TIP: On September 16, 2025, a seminar was held for applicants, focusing on mandatory open science procedures. A recording and presentation can be found here.
The recipient is required to ensure the management of research data collected and created during the project in accordance with FAIR principles in the following manner in particular:
preparing a data management plan in accordance with FAIR principles and updating the plan on a regular basis
storing research data in a trusted repository as outlined in the data management plan
ensuring open access to the research data in accordance with the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”
ensuring open access to the metadata for the stored research data so that they are in line with the General Recommendations for Metadata Description (Czech only)
providing information (via the repository) on any other research results or tools and instruments needed to reuse the research data or to validate them
A data management plan (DMP) is a document that specifies what data will be generated during the research and how, and contains information about its management, availability and possible uses. The DMP must be updated on a regular basis to reflect what is actually happening with the data. The history and dates of individual versions of the plan should be recorded.
Data management plans prepared for P JAK Returns projects must be drawn up in accordance with FAIR principles and correspond in content to the DMP template for the Horizon Europe program. In addition to the template, the DMP Checklist (Czech only) can also be used as a tool to check whether the plan contains all the important main points. Researchers can also use the FAIR Wizard tool to create a DMP.
The submitted DMP will be checked for clarity, completeness, and implementation of FAIR principles by the open science specialist for P JAK Returns. The Open Science Specialist is also the contact point for support in creating the DMP and for other questions regarding the implementation of open science practices within the project (see Support below for more information).
The DMP is first submitted as part of the Interim Activity Report 6 months after the start of the project and then whenever it is updated. If any deficiencies are found, the DMP will be returned to the researcher for completion.
TIP: If you have any questions about DMP or its creation, please do not hesitate to contact the aforementioned support team.
The recipient should store the research data in a trusted repository and ensure open access to the data under the terms of the last accessible version of the public licence Creative Commons Attribution International (CC BY) or an equivalent thereof. The data should be shared in accordance with the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. Recipients and other project participants are not required to make research data available if disclosure would result in unreasonable interference with the right to the protection of intellectual property, the right to the protection of privacy and personal data, the right to the protection of trade secrets, state security, or other legitimate interests of the beneficiary (e.g., in the event of commercial use). If data sharing is restricted, this restriction must be justified in the data management plan, and a regular review of this justification must be arranged.
TIP: Recommendations for selecting an appropriate repository and other detailed information about data management can be found in the Handbook of Open Science Practices (Czech only).
In addition to mandatory procedures, applicants/recipient may also practice other open science procedures and principles aimed at increasing the transparency, credibility, and verifiability of research results and strengthening cooperation between various research actors.
The possibilities for using other open science practices vary greatly across disciplines, and in order to avoid favoring certain fields, their implementation in the project aplications is not evaluated on a point basis.
Early and timely open sharing of research results, for example, through preregistration, registered reports, or preprints
Sharing research results above and beyond peer-reviewed publications and research data, e.g., software, models, algorithms, workflow, open lab notebooks.
Participation in open peer review, e.g., by publishing in journals and on platforms that provide open peer review.
Engaging other relevant actors (end-users, academia and industry, public authorities, non-profit organizations, etc.) in the open co-creation of research aims (citizen science).
Creating open educational resources.
This list is not exhaustive, and if you can think of other ways to open up your research and improve its reproducibility, describe them in the Feasibility Study.
TIP: A more detailed description of selected optional practices for open science can be found in the Handbook of Open Science Practices (Czech only).
TIP: On October 10, 2025, a seminar was held for applicants, focusing on optional open science procedures. A recording and presentation can be found here.
During the preparation and implementation of projects, applicants/recipients will be able to use the consulting services of the open science specialist for P JAK Returns and the Open science support centre at Charles University, who can help them with questions regarding the implementation of mandatory open science procedures, as well as with the selection of other open science procedures suitable for a given project. Consultations on the creation of a data management plan (DMP) are also available.
Mgr. Martin Ouřada
Open science specialist for P JAK Returns
E-mail:
Tel: +420 777 453 059
Residency, Invoicing and Correspondence Address
Charles University
Central Library
Ovocný trh 560/5
116 36 Prague 1
Czech Republic
Office Address
José Martího 2 (2nd floor)
160 00 Prague 6
Phone: +420 224 491 839, 172
E-mail: openscience@cuni.cz
Www: openscience.cuni.cz
