Open science: opening research while it is being done
A dossier of ten articles, a public research notebook and thirty interviews in Canada, to bring open science within reach of research in French.
© Fabio Balli
Context
Open science changes how research is funded, preserved and shared. In Canada, Acfas, the French-language association for knowledge, brought voices together on this question, then commissioned a report for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.
Intervention
With Johanne Lebel, I coordinated the dossier “Recherche et communs : vers des sciences ouvertes” in Acfas's Découvrir magazine, ten open-access articles (in French). Then, as rapporteur on open science for Acfas and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (2020–2022), I interviewed 30 people in Canada: presidents of research funds, librarians, researchers. I published the interviews as I went in an open research notebook, “Favoriser la recherche avec les sciences ouvertes”.
Observed effects
- A dossier of ten open-access articles in Acfas's Découvrir magazine (2019)
- A public research notebook of fifteen notes, including interviews with Canadian research leaders (2020)
- Interviews with 30 people in Canada
- A report for Acfas and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO: “Favoriser la recherche en français au Canada: policy considerations and practical guide”, a contribution to the UNESCO recommendation on open science
- A contribution to the open education roadmap in Switzerland
Testimonial
“Open science is […] also simple access to information for the public.”
“[…] open access must be done fairly, at a fair price and using non-profit infrastructure.”
“We need to convince people that French is not only admissible, but encouraged.”
What it shows
Research can open up from the start, not only at the moment of publishing: a public notebook, interviews published as they happen and open archives make the work open to discussion while it is under way.