#OpenScience

The concept of Open Science has become increasingly relevant in recent years, especially as concerns about the accessibility, transparency, and reusability of scientific research have grown. However, despite numerous attempts to define Open Science, there is still no widely accepted definition of this term. Some scholars argue that science has always been open in some sense, but the commercialization of scholarly publishing and the emergence of intellectual property rights have raised new questions about accessibility and reusability. Beginning in the 2000s, these concerns were consolidated under the banner of Open Science, particularly through the efforts of policymakers in the European Union.

While there is no consensus on what Open Science means, the term is generally understood as a transformative project aimed at making science more transparent, accountable, inclusive, and accessible. The vision of Open Science is that it should be more efficient, democratic, and collaborative than traditional scientific practices. However, it is important to recognize that different communities have different goals and understandings of what Open Science should be, and that the term may not be inclusive enough to encompass all research fields. Some scholars have suggested using the term Open Scholarship to broaden the scope of Openness to other disciplines.

Open Science and Open Scholarship represent a range of initiatives within the scientific system, rather than a single unified movement. These initiatives can be seen as responses to various crises in the science system, including an access crisis, a certification crisis, a quality of research crisis, and a trust crisis. For example, concerns about the quality and replicability of research have led to initiatives to provide open access to data, enabling more systematic and holistic quality assurance. Similarly, the rising costs of scholarly publishing have spurred initiatives for free access to publications and distribution, with the aim of making scientific knowledge more accessible.

Overall, Open Science and Open Scholarship aim to facilitate wider participation in the scientific enterprise by allowing stakeholders and different audiences to access, contribute to, and benefit from scientific research. The normative project of Open Science can be broken down into calls for transparency, verifiability, inclusion, and access to scholarly knowledge. These initiatives are also facilitated by socio-technological innovations, including digital infrastructures for publishing and communication that enable greater collaboration and participation.

In the information age, knowledge is power. It’s the key to unlocking opportunities, making informed decisions, and understanding the world around us. However, access to knowledge has traditionally been limited by factors like geography, income, and education. Fortunately, the rise of the internet and the concept of free knowledge has changed this.

Free knowledge refers to the idea that information should be available to everyone, regardless of their background or resources. This includes everything from educational resources to scientific research to news and current events. The internet has made it easier than ever before to share and access free knowledge, and this has significant benefits for individuals and society as a whole.

One of the most significant benefits of free knowledge is that it can help to level the playing field. In the past, access to information was often limited to those who had the resources to seek it out. This meant that people from disadvantaged backgrounds or developing countries were at a disadvantage when it came to education and career opportunities. However, with free knowledge available online, anyone with an internet connection can access the same information as someone in a developed country. This can help to bridge the gap and create more opportunities for people around the world.

Another benefit of free knowledge is that it can help to promote innovation and progress. When information is freely available, people are able to build on the work of others, creating new ideas and discoveries. This is particularly important in fields like science and technology, where collaboration and sharing of knowledge are essential for progress. Free knowledge can help to accelerate innovation, leading to new discoveries and advancements in fields like medicine, energy, and communication.

Free knowledge also has important implications for social and political progress. When people have access to accurate information, they are better equipped to make informed decisions about their lives and their communities. This can help to promote greater civic engagement and participation, leading to a more informed and active citizenry. Additionally, free knowledge can help to promote greater social justice by providing marginalized communities with access to important information and resources.

Of course, there are also challenges and potential drawbacks to the concept of free knowledge. For example, there is the risk of misinformation and fake news, which can spread quickly online and undermine the value of accurate information. Additionally, there are concerns about the impact of free knowledge on industries like journalism and publishing, which rely on the sale of information for revenue.

Despite these challenges, however, the benefits of free knowledge far outweigh the drawbacks. By promoting greater access to information and knowledge, we can create a more informed and empowered global community. We can accelerate innovation and progress, promote greater social justice, and create new opportunities for people from all walks of life. Ultimately, free knowledge benefits all of us, and we should work to ensure that it remains freely available and accessible to everyone.

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on transparency and integrity in research, particularly in the context of open science. Open science refers to the practice of making research more transparent, collaborative, and accessible to the wider community. This includes making research data, materials, and findings openly available for others to use and scrutinize.

Research assessment, or the evaluation of research for the purposes of funding, hiring, promotion, and other career advancements, plays a crucial role in promoting transparency and integrity in open science. In this article, we will explore why research assessment is important in regards to the transparency and integrity of open science.

Transparency in Research Assessment

Transparency is a key aspect of open science, and it is essential in research assessment as well. Researchers must be transparent about their methods, data, and findings to ensure that their work can be reproduced and validated by other researchers. When research assessment is transparent, it helps to promote this transparency in research.

For example, when a research assessment is conducted using clear, objective, and publicly available criteria, it allows researchers to understand what is expected of them, and it provides a clear roadmap for how they can improve their work. Furthermore, when research assessment is transparent, it helps to prevent bias and ensure that decisions are made based on the quality of the research, rather than personal opinions or affiliations.

Integrity in Research Assessment

Integrity is another important aspect of open science, and it is critical in research assessment as well. Research assessment must be conducted with integrity to ensure that the results are reliable, accurate, and trustworthy. Researchers must be honest about their findings, and they must avoid any conflicts of interest that could compromise the integrity of their work.

When research assessment is conducted with integrity, it helps to promote integrity in research. For example, when researchers know that their work will be evaluated based on its quality, rather than on their personal connections or affiliations, they are more likely to prioritize the integrity of their work. Furthermore, when research assessment is conducted with integrity, it helps to ensure that funding, hiring, and promotion decisions are made based on merit, rather than on personal biases or preferences.

Challenges to Research Assessment in Open Science

Despite the importance of research assessment in promoting transparency and integrity in open science, there are still challenges that must be addressed. One of the main challenges is the lack of standardized criteria for research assessment. Without clear, objective criteria, it can be difficult to compare and evaluate research across different disciplines and research areas. This can lead to inconsistencies in research assessment and can make it difficult to ensure that funding, hiring, and promotion decisions are based on merit.

Another challenge is the lack of transparency in the peer review process. Peer review is an essential part of research assessment, but it can be difficult to ensure that the process is transparent and unbiased. For example, reviewers may have conflicts of interest that are not disclosed, or they may be biased against certain types of research. To address these challenges, there has been a growing movement to make the peer review process more transparent, by making reviews and reviewer identities publicly available.

Conclusion

In conclusion, research assessment plays a critical role in promoting transparency and integrity in open science. Transparent and objective research assessment criteria can help to promote transparency and prevent bias, while research assessment conducted with integrity can help to ensure that funding, hiring, and promotion decisions are based on merit. However, there are still challenges that must be addressed, including the lack of standardized criteria for research assessment and the need to make the peer review process more transparent. By addressing these challenges, we can ensure that research assessment continues to promote transparency and integrity in open science.

DORA, the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, will be 10 years old in May 2023 and is planning a weeklong celebration to mark the occasion. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, DORA will host two plenary online sessions and a global program of local or regional events. The celebration aims to promote conversations on what DORA has accomplished and what remains to be done in research assessment all over the world.

The two plenary sessions are scheduled to capture as many time zones as possible and to ensure community participation worldwide. The Asia-Pacific Plenary will be held on May 16, 2023, at 12AM UTC, and will feature introductory statements from DORA’s Vice-Chair, Ginny Barbour (Open Access Australasia), a keynote address by Mai Har Sham (The Chinese University of Hong Kong), and a panel discussion with experts from across the globe. The Africa, Americas, Europe Plenary will be held on May 16, 2023, at 12PM UTC, and will feature introductory statements from DORA’s Chair, Stephen Curry (Imperial College London), a keynote address by Sarah de Rijcke (Leiden University), and a panel discussion with experts from across the globe.

The global program of local or regional events will take place during one week in May 2023 and aims to highlight reform efforts, innovation in evaluation, research into evaluation systems, and more. DORA encourages community members across the globe to organize their own events on responsible research assessment during the week of May 15-19th, 2023. DORA will promote these events on its website and is calling for organizers who will lead virtual, hybrid, or in-person events on responsible research assessment.

DORA will accept event proposals from anyone interested in good research assessment, including academic staff or faculty, researchers studying biases in evaluation, librarians, research managers, early career researchers, bibliometricians, funders, initiatives for responsible research assessment, publishers, and societies. Events can be of any format, including webinars, conferences, seminars, and workshops. The deadline for submission is April 3, 2023. Once the proposal is accepted, DORA will reach out to the organizer for further information about the event to feature on the DORA website, including registration and related links. Organizers will also be invited to submit a blog summary of their event to be featured on the DORA website.

To read more and register for the event, click here.

On February 8, the third and final day of the informal meeting of the Competitiveness Council (COMPET) in Stockholm, Minister for Education Mats Persson and his ministerial colleagues engaged in policy discussions on how to strengthen and develop the use of research data from research infrastructures to better address societal challenges and enhance competitiveness. They also discussed open access to scientific publications and the impact of digitalization on the scientific publication system.

Sweden, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, made research infrastructures and open science the focus of the meeting attended by ministers for research. The meeting followed up on the joint priorities of the France, Czech Republic, and Sweden trio. The Swedish presidency proposed that ministers prioritize data-driven research infrastructures to facilitate the research process and transfer of knowledge into practice. This requires investment in data capacity and creating a system that follows the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) principle, allowing research data to be easily found, accessed, reused, and made interoperable between different systems. Coordination between EU Member States, the European Commission, and stakeholders in this area is primarily through the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

To realize open science, EU Member States mentioned various framework conditions that need to be established, including reforming the system of research assessment to encourage a research culture of open science, creating incentives for data sharing, integrating research infrastructures (including data infrastructures) into the EOSC and coordinating EU Member States through the Cloud, training researchers to implement the FAIR principle, and developing appropriate data management plans and a framework for monitoring success in achieving these objectives.

The Minister of Higher Education of Slovenia reported on the successful planning of research infrastructures using the VEGA supercomputer as an example, which involved all relevant stakeholders and enabled almost 100% of its use to be exploited, even by businesses. The Minister also outlined Slovenia’s plan to set up two big data centers using national funds and Recovery and Resilience Plan funds, emphasizing the need for a pan-European approach through the EOSC for connected and compatible data infrastructures.

Regarding open science, ministers responsible for research highlighted challenges such as the rising cost of open access, a scientific culture that values publishing in prestigious journals, the protection of intellectual property rights, and the reluctance of publishers to change their current business model. To transition to full open access, the majority of ministers proposed joint negotiations with major publishers, reforming the system for evaluating research and researchers, changing the regulatory framework to ensure that researchers’ copyrights are retained, limiting the costs charged by publishers for processing and publishing articles, and establishing alternative public repositories of scientific publications and data.

Following the debate, the Swedish presidency will prepare a proposal of conclusions on open science publishing to be presented to the Council of the European Union in the Working Party on Research.

Open science practices, such as open access publishing, open data sharing, and open peer review, have been gaining traction in the research community in recent years. However, there is still a need to encourage more researchers to adopt these practices and to ensure that they are implemented effectively. OPUS project is currently working on the best interventions for influencing researchers to take up open science practices, with a particular focus on the role of institutions, governments, and funders in promoting open science.

Institutions play an important role in promoting open science. Universities and research institutes should ensure that their policies and procedures are supportive of open science, and should provide training and resources to help researchers understand the benefits of open science and how to implement it. They should also consider developing incentives and rewards for researchers who adopt open science practices, such as recognition in annual reviews and promotion decisions, or granting of additional resources.

As a part of OPUS Work Package 2 (WP2 – Interventions for Open Science (Rewards and Incentives for Researchers)) and Work Package 3 (WP3 – Indicators and Metrics for Open Science (Rewards and incentives for Researchers)) activities, our team members are participating in the workshop with OPUS pilot #Research Performing (RPOs) and Research Funding organisations (RFOs) about the interventions, indicators, and metrics to implement a reformed research(er) assessment system that incentivises and rewards #OpenScience is taking place in Brussels today.

Results of the Questionnaire for the pilot organisations on relevant activities, comprehensive list of interventions and indicators/metrics, and structure/content and monitoring of the Action Plans for the pilot organisations, are some of the workshop discussions among OPUS team members and pilot organisations.

RPOs (Nova University Lisbon, University of Rijeka, and University of Cyprus) and 2 pilot RFOs from Lithuania and Romania (RCL and UEFISCDI) will learn from both each other and draw experience from external experts in mutual learning exercises. The results of the pilots will be translated into policy briefs and thematic workshops that will help to raise awareness, build trust, and drive the uptake of Open Science in the community.

The RPOs (Nova University Lisbon, University of Rijeka, and University of Cyprus) and 2 pilot RFOs from Lithuania and Romania (The Research Council of Lithuania (RCL) and Unitatea Executiva Pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior a Cercetarii Dezvoltarii si Inovarii (UEFISCDI)) will define what they will pilot, together with the work package leaders: WP 2 Leader CAREERS RESEARCH AND ADVISORY CENTRE (CRAC) – VITAE , WP3 Leader TECHNOPOLIS CONSULTING GROUP BELGIUM, and WP 4 Leader The Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN), and WP5 Leader The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). That means OPUS will:

• develop interventions to be tested by pilot RPOs and RFOs in activity #4 (WP4)
• conduct a baseline audit of interventions to be tested in the pilots
• co-monitor and evaluate interventions tested in the pilots with the pilot RPOs and RFOs
• develop a final set of interventions for Open Science at RPOs and RFOs.
• develop indicators and metrics to be tested by pilot RPOs and RFOs in WP4
• conduct a baseline audit of metrics to be tested in the pilots
• co-monitor and evaluate metrics tested in the pilots with the pilot RPOs and RFOs
• develop a final set of indicators and metrics for Open Science at RPOs and RFOs.

OPUS will develop action plans to set up, implement, and monitor the pilots in 3 RPOs and 2 RFOs as well as conduct mutual learning exercises based on implementing the action plans.

The OPUS project involves 18 different European partners, covering a wide range of organisations with relevant expertise to this project. OPUS will develop coordination and support measures to reform the assessment of research and researchers at Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) towards a system that incentivises and rewards researchers to practise Open Science.

The project commenced on 1 September 2022 with an implementation period of 36 months.