OpenAIRE has introduced several new features across its CONNECT and EXPLORE platforms. OpenAIRE CONNECT and EXPLORE are two separate services offered by OpenAIRE to support the open science landscape. OpenAIRE CONNECT is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that enables research communities to create, configure, and manage custom web portals for sharing research outcomes and Open Science practices. OpenAIRE EXPLORE is a research portal that provides access to a vast collection of research outputs, supporting discoverability and access to open-access content.
A key update enables authors to upload Open Access versions of publication directly to Zenodo from CONNECT or EXPLORE when only non-Open Access versions are found, provided they are listed as authors and linked via ORCID. The “Upload OA version” buttons on the product page automate metadata entry, and deposits can be made into relevant Zenodo communities. All submissions are now viewable and manageable in a dedicated “My Uploads” section.
Discovery in CONNECT has been significantly upgraded through expanded filters. Users can now refine searches by funder, funding stream, project start year, end year, Open Access mandates, data source typology, language,compatibility with the OpenAIRE Guidelines, and provenance. Research products can be filtered by affiliated organization, with Premium CONNECT users gaining visibility into community-specific organizations and persistent identifiers for better integration.
The update also enhances research visibility. The OpenAIRE propagation algorithm now includes patents linked to community research products, with some communities seeing a doubling in patent coverage.
CONNECT gateway managers now have more tools to oversee their communities. A new affiliations overview enables self-service validation of affiliated organizations. Homepage customization options have been expanded to show more than nine institutions, and tagging now allows research products to be assigned to sub-communities, such as subfields within a broader discipline.
Accessibility improvements have also been introduced. The CONNECT portal now supports screen readers and other assistive tools through the UserWay plugin, with similar enhancements planned across all OpenAIRE sites.
Looking ahead, richer landing pages for organizations and expanded filtering options for research products are under development. These changes aim to deepen contextual insights and give gateway managers more control over content curation, supporting.
OpenAIRE’s goal of continuously enhancing scholarly communication infrastructure.
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