OECD report "Making Open Science a reality" is now out.
The OECD has published a report on Open Science which reviews the progress made by OECD countries in making publicly funded research openly accessible. The report reviews policy issues, including the impact of policies to promote open science, and it also looks at the legal barriers and possible solutions to greater access. It also provides a description of the key actors involved in open science and their roles.
Chapter 4, on the governance of Open Science, includes a prominent presentation of OpenAIRE, and the role of OpenAIRE in Horizon2020 is also presented.
The report's main findings are the following:
- Open science is a means and not an end in itself.
- Open science is more than just open access to publications or data; it includes many aspects and stages of research processes.
- Policies to promote open data are less mature than those to promote open access to scientific publications.
- Open science policies should be principle-based but adapted to local realities.
- Better incentive mechanisms to promote data-sharing practices amongst researchers are needed.
- The development of data-related skills is essential.
- Training of and awareness-raising among researchers is important for the development of an open science culture.
- Repositories and online platforms will not have impact if the information they contain is not of good quality.
- The long-term preservation costs of openly available research outputs need to be considered.
- Clear legal frameworks for the sharing of publications and reuse of data sets are needed at the national and international levels.
- Consultative approaches that involve all relevant actors for open science are a key component of successful open science strategies.
- International collaboration in the area of open science is necessary to address global challenges.
- Policy makers need to promote openness in science while at the same time preserving competition.
The full report is available here.