D4Science: an enabling infrastructure for open science

D4Science supports Virtual Research Environments that integrate data, computing, and collaboration tools, making Open Science part of everyday research practice across diverse communities. Open Science is increasingly embedded in research practice, but implementing it in everyday workflows remains both a technological and organisational challenge. D4Science [1] addresses this challenge by adopting the as-a-Service paradigm and by offering Virtual Research Environments (VREs) [2], also called Virtual Laboratories (VLabs), as integrated, web-based, working environments. These environments provide researchers with seamless access to data, computational resources, and analytical services within a unified framework. By abstracting away the complexities of storage management, computation, and service orchestration, VREs enable scientists to focus on research design, methodological rigour and knowledge production rather than on IT and infrastructure concerns. However, fragmentation of tools and the effort required to prepare artefacts for reuse often hinder adoption. D4Science addresses this by embedding Open Science practices directly within VREs.