On 28 January 2020 the RDA Node Slovenia held the Scientific Journals of Slovenia and Research Data Conference. The conference was one of the milestones in Node's work on developing journal policies on open access to research data and on data citation. It showcased the pilot project’s results as an example of good practices, promoted open data in Slovenian scientific publishing and fostered a discussion on needs, issues, and further steps.

Janez Štebe, coordinator of the Node and head of Social Science Data Archive, opened the main part of the conference by presenting main RDA recommendations and groups relevant to scientific journals, particularly emphasizing the collaborative document Data Repository Selection, Criteria That Matter. Dunja Legat (University of Maribor Library) presented current practices and regulations in Slovenia and Europe. Janez Štebe then presented the plans and processes of the pilot project. Based on the stipulations of the Action plan for National Strategy of Open Access, the project’s main objective was to open research data in Slovenian scientific publishing ‘as much as possible’, and to encourage data citation through a ‘grass-root’ approach. The principal tools in this process were two guideline documents, presented at the conference by Sonja Bezjak (Social Science Data Archive) .

In the second part, representatives of four journals that participated in the project presented their intentions and implementation of revised data policies within their editorial teams. Andrej Pančur from the Contributions to Contemporary History journal emphasized the specifics of research data in the field. Martina Kerec of the Socialno delo [Social Work] journal mapped the changes of the data policy within the broader developments of the last years. Tomaž Erjavec of Slovenščina 2.0 [Slovene language] journal endorsed the citation and preservation of language resources. Dimitrij Mlekuž Vrhovnik of Documenta Prahistorica journal defined the approach within a field with ever evolving methodologies and approaches.

Round-table discussion in the end demonstrated the diversity of viewpoints regarding open data. Vera Grebenc, professor at Faculty of Social Work, Tomaž Krpič, editor and researcher at Faculty of Social Sciences, Gregor Majdič, professor at University of Ljubljana and University at Maribor, and Aleš Pogačnik, chief editor at Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts debated responsibility, current practices, and possible solutions.

Node’s project, however, continues – three new journals have joined in the work since the conference and Node will soon be able to post the guidance document in English.