Making Open Science a reality

Science is the mother of the digital age. And yet, twenty-two years after CERN placed the World Wide Web software in the public domain, effectively creating the open internet, science itself has struggled not only to “go digital” but also to “go open”. This report, Making open science a reality reviews the progress in OECD countries in making the results of publicly funded research, namely scientific publications and research data openly accessible to researchers and innovators alike.

The report i) reviews the policy rationale behind open science and open data; ii) discusses and presents evidence on the impacts of policies to promote open science and open data; iii) explores the legal barriers and solutions to greater access to research data; iv) provides a description of the key actors involved in open science and their roles; and finally v) assesses progress in OECD and selected non-member countries based a survey of recent policy trends.

URL : http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/science-and-technology/making-open-science-a-reality_5jrs2f963zs1-en

Developments in Research Funder Data Policy This…

Statut

Developments in Research Funder Data Policy :

“This paper reviews developments in funders’ data management and sharing policies, and explores the extent to which they have affected practice. The Digital Curation Centre has been monitoring UK research funders’ data policies since 2008. There have been significant developments in subsequent years, most notably the joint Research Councils UK’s Common Principles on Data Policy and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Policy Framework on Research Data. This paper charts these changes and highlights shifting emphasises in the policies. Institutional data policies and infrastructure are increasingly being developed as a result of these changes. While action is clearly being taken, questions remain about whether the changes are affecting practice on the ground.”

URL : http://www.ijdc.net/index.php/ijdc/article/view/219

Being Open About Data Analysis of the UK…

Being Open About Data : Analysis of the UK open data policies and applicability of open data :

“This paper presents an analysis of the recent UK open-data policies and draws an argument on how governments can sustainably promote the development and use of open data. Moreover, research contributes to the ongoing discussion on the normative values of openness by presenting a conceptual analysis of open data as an integral part of the freedom-of-information continuum.”

URL : http://www.finnish-institute.org.uk/images/stories/pdf2012/being%20open%20about%20data.pdf

Open Data Study – New Technologies Political…

Open Data Study – New Technologies :

“Political power, information and rights issues have been energised in the US and UK by the pioneering introduction of open data. Making information about services, education and other data has been made publicly available on the web in both countries to help improve services and contribute to future economic growth. But can this approach be replicated to support progress in middle-income and developing countries?

This paper explores the feasibility of applying a similar approach to open data in middle income and developing countries and identifies the factors behind the success in the US and UK and the pivotal strategies adopted in these contexts which helped bring together civil servants and ‘civic hackers’ to release government data.

The report finds that 3 key groups or ‘layers’ were crucial to the successful introduction of open data. An influential and active civil society provided the ‘bottom up’ pressure for change through traditional advocacy and by setting up innovative websites demonstrating how open information could be used. Civil servants and state and federal administrators who saw open data as a way of improving efficiency provided the ‘middle layer’. Finally, high-level political leaders including Heads of States and Ministers provided the third layer.

By analysing the strategies adopted by these three groups in the US and UK, the report asks regional experts to examine whether similar initiatives could work in their respective political settings and cultures. The opinions of these specialists, working on a range of issues from freedom of information to budgetary monitoring, are also revealed.

The report proposes a set of criteria for those considering introducing open government data in middle-income or developing countries. The checklist encourages campaigners to consider certain issues before embarking on an open data campaign. These include: the status of Freedom of Information in the country; current levels of government data availability and issues around freedom of the press who are key potential end-users of open data.”

URL : http://www.transparency-initiative.org/reports/open-data-study-new-technologies