The dawn of an open exploration era: Emergent principles and practices of open science and innovation of university research teams in a digital world

Lieve Van den Brande,Ruben Vicente-Saez,Robin Gustafsson

doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120037

Lieve Van den Brande, Ruben Vicente-Saez + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120037

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Abstract

Principles and practices of open science at universities are evolving. Increasing use and application of digital technologies and platforms in research and innovation are pushing universities to take up and develop new visions and principles for how research and innovation are performed. These open science policies and practices (i.e. open data sharing, open access publishing, open repositories, open physical labs, participatory design, and transdisciplinary research platforms) are expanding the ethos of science and innovation at universities. These new principles and practices of open science at universities are also triggering novel open innovation practices by university research teams. Open science and innovation practices hold great potential for accelerating the learning and creation of new knowledge, speeding up the research and innovation process for finding solutions for grand societal challenges, and nurturing the growth of highly innovative and entrepreneurial people. The purpose of this study was to identify emergent principles, practices, and underlying mechanisms of open science and innovation developed and encountered by research teams at universities. The results of this study provide directions for how to advance openness in science at universities and illustrate how openness in innovation is being remodelled by open science practices. Based on our findings, we propose an open exploration policy and a governance model of open science and innovation at universities in the digital world, which aspire to create increased societal value.

Highlights

The concept of open science is spurring new visions, principles, and practices for how research and innovation are performed at universities
We propose a novel open exploration policy that promotes a nexus between open science and innovation at universities in a digital world
A conceptual model for the governance of open science and innovation at universities in a digital world science in the digital era that direct the work of research teams at universities: transparency and accessibility to science outputs, and authorization and participation in science production

Summary

Introduction

The concept of open science is spurring new visions, principles, and practices for how research and innovation are performed at universities. Advances in digital and communication technologies and development of various types of digital platforms are nurturing new open science policies and practices in universities, such as open data sharing (Murray-Rust, 2008), open access publishing (Cribb and Sari, 2010), and participatory design. These novel open science practices have developed in tandem with novel organising forms of conducting and sharing research through open repositories, open physical labs, and transdisciplinary research platforms. There are currently no comprehensive empirical studies on the underlying principles and practices that university research teams have developed and are using to adopt open science in response to new policies and the new digital technologies available, nor does an analysis of the factors inhibiting and enabling open science exist

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