D3. 4Final evaluation and summary of training programs

This report presents the final, summative evaluation of the training programmes implemented within the PATTERN project, which aims to develop and implement high-quality trainings in open and responsible research and innovation (RRI) across Europe. The project focuses on widening participation and fostering transferable skills within the European Research Area across eight thematic areas, including FAIR data management, Open Access, Citizen Science, and Management and Leadership. This report covers the second and final learning cycle of pilot implementation (May 2025 to April 2026) and additionally presents data from the first learning cycle that could not be included in the earlier evaluation report (D3.3). It thus provides a comprehensive account of the full scope of PATTERN training activity, assessing learning outcomes, individual changes, and institutional impact across both cycles. The evaluation addresses three levels of assessment – the trainings, the participants, and the institutions – drawing on a mixed-methods design that included quantitative participant questionnaires (1,743 responses across 116 trainings), qualitative analysis of participant and facilitator feedback, and semi-structured interviews with representatives from 10 institutions. Overall, participant satisfaction was high: the majority of participants found the trainings well organised, relevant, and worthwhile, and reported increased interest in the subject matter. Qualitative findings confirm and deepen this picture: Interactivity, peer discussion, and practical application were the most universally valued features across all thematic areas and participant groups. Participants most commonly described their primary gain as new knowledge and raised awareness rather than fully consolidated skills, a finding that reflects the inherent format constraints of single-session trainings rather than a shortcoming of content quality, and one that points to the value of sustained follow-up mechanisms. In Management and Leadership trainings, a particularly striking finding was the prominence of solidarity and peer recognition as the dominant form of perceived value, underscoring the social and psychological dimensions of researcher wellbeing that such trainings can address. Interviews with institutional representatives confirm that the PATTERN trainings are highly effective in translating abstract Open Science and RRI frameworks into concrete, institutionally relevant practice, and describe them as strategically significant instruments for institutional positioning and capacity-building. Based on these findings, the report concludes with the following key recommendations: Trainers should prioritise interactive, hands-on formats over passive lectures, and make time for practical exercises. Trainers should clearly separate awareness-raising from skill development, framing single sessions as introductions and, where possible, designing follow-up activities like peer learning or advanced workshops to foster skills. Content and teaching methods should be tailored to different participant groups, especially bachelor’s students, natural scientists, and professionals such as librarians. Training designers should focus on topics with clear, immediate relevance to researchers’ daily work or funder mandates, and make the scope of broader topics explicit to avoid mismatched expectations. To support long-term reuse, training materials should be modular, self-contained, and accompanied by clear guides for adaptation to different disciplines and institutional settings. Funders and policymakers should tackle institutional barriers directly, using policy levers such as mandatory requirements (e.g. Data Management Plans, Gender Equality Plans) to drive demand for training. Evaluation criteria for future projects should reward adaptable, well-documented, openly licensed materials, not just participant numbers. New funding calls must address emerging issues that current modules miss, notably artificial intelligence’s impact on integrity and authorship, and the need to build lasting communities around open RRI. **This version of the document is still under approval of the EC.