Building bridges between Open Science policy and practice

Abstract

There is increasing recognition of the scope of cultural change needed to realize the European vision for Open Science policy. Key challenges include contemporary modes of recognition and reward that are out of step with principles of open science [1] and identification of numerous disincentives, at the individual level, regarding adoption of increased openness [2]. These obstacles raise questions about implementation of top-down policy in general, and the European Commission's open science policy in particular: Where does the European notion of Open Science come from? In what ways is open science policy informed by the science of science? And what role is there for ongoing, bottom-up contributions to open scholarship? This project examines foundational European policy documents in relation to published research on open science, and outlines a bridge to better understanding of openness practices through recognition[3] of those already doing open science. [1] European Commission. 2017. “Evaluation of Research Careers Fully Acknowledging Open Science Practices; Rewards, Incentives and/or Recognition for Researchers Practicing Open Science.” Directorate-General for Research and Innovation Open Science and ERA policy. https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/pdf/os_rewards_wgreport_final.pdf [2] Leonelli, Sabina. 2017. “European Commission: MLE on Open Science: Altmetrics and Rewards – Incentives and Rewards to Engage in Open Science Activities.” Brussels: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. https://rio.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/file/11619/download?token=uiOzNZM_ [3] the Openness Profile is presently under development by the Knowledge Exchange working group on Open Scholarship and Research Evaluation - http://knowledge-exchange.info