Info-Structure: Ssn 1: Episode 1
Info-Structure is a snapshot of current events and ideas in open knowledge, and is designed to supplement the Association of Research Libraries’ Accelerating the Social Impact of Research (ASIR) program.
Goings-on
The United Nations held the 2nd Open Science Conference, focused on how the open research system can, has, and will respond to global crises like climate change and pandemics. The three day event scoped the conversation around themes of policy, societal change and equity, and academic infrastructure and partnerships.
The Office of Science and Technology Policy hosted three Public Listening Sessions on Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking. The sessions focused on 1) communications between science and media, 2) training and professional development, and 3) promoting trust in scientific research.
Insights
Heather Joseph (SPARC) had a conversation with Jean Claude Burgelman (Free University of Brussels) for Frontiers Policy Labs. They discussed that the what and why of open science seem to be understood post-COVID, whereas the how (infrastructural and human) is our next and necessary horizon.
Software continues to become solidified as a pillar of open science with the French Ministry for Research including it fully in their 2nd national open science plan. Software Heritage celebrates and offers a summary. This follows on Australia indicating movement, TU Delft issuing a research software sharing policy, and the rise of the open source program officer/s in industry and academia.
Micah Altman and Philip N. Cohen have released The Scholarly Knowledge Ecosystem: Challenges and Opportunities for the Field of Information. The work outlines “the need to align research approaches and methods with core ethical principles; and the promise of approaches that are transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral.”
The European University Association released a report presenting the findings of the 2020–2021 EUA Open Science Survey. They identify that open practices like publication sharing and data management are understood and in various phases of implementation, while areas like research communication, citizen science, and OER are still developing. They also write: “At most institutions, the transition to Open Science was primarily facilitated by external factors, including national and European policies/guidelines and research funder requirements. And a lack of incentives, or legal and financial concerns were seen as the main hurdles.”
Ideas
Micah Vandegrift shared a brief perspective from the UN Open Science Conference. Inspired by that meeting, he is developing the Open Science for Action (OS4A) conceptual model which is available on Zenodo.
Questions, comments, ideas, or provocations can be sent to Micah Vandegrift - mlvandeg [at] ncsu.edu
