Special Topics Call for Submissions
Open Science Policies as an Accelerator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Closed science models are at an impasse, because they amplify inequalities between countries and researchers, and because they only make scientific progress available to a minority. The health crisis has shown the incredible potential of scientific collaboration, which allowed us to sequence the genome of the COVID-19 virus so quickly. The solidarity shown by the scientific community is a model for the future: in the face of global challenges, we need collective intelligence, today more than ever. As countries call for international scientific collaboration, as the scientific community, civil society, innovators and the private sector mobilize in these unprecedented times, the urgency of the transition to open science has never been more clear.
— Audrey Azoulay, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General
Open science, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and to creating a more equitable global society. Young people, especially young scientists and engineers, have an important role to play in the process of open science policy creation and implementation because it is our lives and our careers that will be the most powerfully impacted by open science.
— Victoria Lovins, Co-Platform Coordinator, Science-Policy Interface, Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY)
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for increased sharing of scientific knowledge and collaboration across the globe. Now more than ever, it is critical to break down barriers to accessing this knowledge across countries and within our local communities, and to build a common vision for a better society. JSPG is thrilled to partner with UNESCO and MGCY on this call for papers, and to incorporate the innovative policy ideas developed by the next generation into shaping the future of our society by leveraging the potential of open science.
— Adriana Bankston, CEO & Managing Publisher, Journal of Science Policy & Governance
SPECIAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
The Journal of Science Policy & Governance (JSPG), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) are pleased to announce a call for papers and competition on shaping the future of global scientific practices in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, focused on Open Science Policies as an Accelerator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Open science is a movement towards a more accessible, more transparent, and more participatory way of designing, conducting, publishing, and evaluating scholarly research. Open science can be a true game changer in bridging the science, technology and innovation gaps between and within countries, fulfilling the human right to science and leaving no one behind.
We invite students, post-doctoral researchers, policy fellows, early career researchers and young professionals from around the world to develop bold and innovative policy and governance ideas for exploring the untapped potential of open science to create a better society, and push for the attainment of the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Submission deadline: July 24, 2022.
This Special Issue is supported in-kind by outreach partners from the Global Young Academy Open Science Working Group.
Follow JSPG on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. Join our monthly newsletter. Tweet using #JSPGOpenScience.
Open science is a movement towards a more accessible, more transparent, and more participatory way of designing, conducting, publishing, and evaluating scholarly research. Open science can be a true game changer in bridging the science, technology and innovation gaps between and within countries, fulfilling the human right to science and leaving no one behind.
We invite students, post-doctoral researchers, policy fellows, early career researchers and young professionals from around the world to develop bold and innovative policy and governance ideas for exploring the untapped potential of open science to create a better society, and push for the attainment of the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Submission deadline: July 24, 2022.
This Special Issue is supported in-kind by outreach partners from the Global Young Academy Open Science Working Group.
Follow JSPG on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. Join our monthly newsletter. Tweet using #JSPGOpenScience.
Submission Guidelines & Competition:
See the call for papers on the UNESCO open science page.
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Submissions to the Special Issue will be accepted until EOD on July 24, 2022. All article formats published by JSPG can be submitted to this Special Issue. Submissions will be reviewed by the JSPG editorial board. Accepted articles will undergo peer review by the JSPG editorial board. Following peer review, accepted articles will be entered into a policy paper competition, where a committee of experts in open science policies will select the top three articles. First, second and third place article winners will have the opportunity to present in UNESCO and MGCY events on open science. The criteria by which competition winners will be chosen can be found in this rubric.
All published authors will be supported through strategic communications and interviewed for episodes of JSPG's podcast SciPol SoundBites and will be invited to participate in outreach events and opportunities organized by JSPG, UNESCO and MGCY once the issue is released. |
Guiding Events:
Leading up to the submission deadline, JSPG will organize a series of training sessions to provide prospective authors with opportunities to practice policy writing for the Special Issue, and to inspire and empower them with expert perspectives on open science policies to inform their submissions.
Please register for the writing workshop and webinar series below. More information on these events will be shared as it becomes available. Questions regarding these events may be directed to JSPG's Director of Programs and Events Julianne McCall.
Please register for the writing workshop and webinar series below. More information on these events will be shared as it becomes available. Questions regarding these events may be directed to JSPG's Director of Programs and Events Julianne McCall.
Science policy paper writing workshop: April 2 & 3, 2022: Writing workshop on open science policy development, collaborative governance, scientific culture, and international cooperation. This workshop will provide a broad overview of the topics to be covered in the Special Issue, followed by instructions for writing policy papers from a content expert. Based on these topics, prospective authors will create an outline of their paper in breakout rooms and receive feedback from reviewers. For the purposes of this training, breakout rooms will focus on the four subsequent webinar themes. Watch it here.
Webinar 1: April 8, 2022: Setting the stage for open science policy development, infrastructure and capacity building. This webinar will focus on approaches to promoting a common understanding of open science, developing policy environments for open science, and investing in open science infrastructures and capacity building. Watch it here.
Webinar 2: April 29, 2022: Developing collaborative governance for open science through public participation and inclusive knowledge. This webinar will focus on consolidating public participation in open science, engaging societal actors beyond the scientific community, and promoting the inclusion of knowledge from traditionally marginalized scholars. Watch it here.
Webinar 3: June 3, 2022: Aligning incentives, rewards, and evaluation methods for open science in the scientific process. This webinar will focus on aligning incentives and rewards, as well as evaluation methods for open science, including approaches to incorporate open science at different stages of the scientific process and in policy decisions. Watch it here.
Webinar 4: July 8, 2022 Fostering international cooperation and reducing gaps in access to scientific knowledge through open science. This webinar will focus on ways to promote international cooperation in the context of open science, with a view towards reducing digital, technological and knowledge gaps between and within countries. Watch it here.
Webinar 1: April 8, 2022: Setting the stage for open science policy development, infrastructure and capacity building. This webinar will focus on approaches to promoting a common understanding of open science, developing policy environments for open science, and investing in open science infrastructures and capacity building. Watch it here.
Webinar 2: April 29, 2022: Developing collaborative governance for open science through public participation and inclusive knowledge. This webinar will focus on consolidating public participation in open science, engaging societal actors beyond the scientific community, and promoting the inclusion of knowledge from traditionally marginalized scholars. Watch it here.
Webinar 3: June 3, 2022: Aligning incentives, rewards, and evaluation methods for open science in the scientific process. This webinar will focus on aligning incentives and rewards, as well as evaluation methods for open science, including approaches to incorporate open science at different stages of the scientific process and in policy decisions. Watch it here.
Webinar 4: July 8, 2022 Fostering international cooperation and reducing gaps in access to scientific knowledge through open science. This webinar will focus on ways to promote international cooperation in the context of open science, with a view towards reducing digital, technological and knowledge gaps between and within countries. Watch it here.
Background:
While the open science movement has gained significant momentum over the last several years, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for increased access to scientific knowledge and fostering international scientific collaboration. It has also created opportunities for institutions and governments to develop tools needed for highlighting the crucial role of basic sciences for sustainable development.
Open science has the potential to strengthen the links between science and societal needs, and to design the future of science in ways that accelerate the wide dissemination of knowledge in decades to come.
Developing a sustainable and equitable model for the adoption of open science across the globe necessitates an international framework for open science policy and practice that recognizes disciplinary and regional differences in open science perspectives. This is why, in November 2021, the 193 Member States of UNESCO, the UN Organization with the mandate of Science, adopted a new standard-setting instrument on open science in the form of a UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. This is the first international legal instrument that provides a common definition, core values and guiding principles and key areas of action for a fair and equitable implementation of open science practices worldwide.
Through seven key areas of action, and taking into account academic freedom, gender-transformative approaches and the specific challenges of scientists and other open science actors in different countries and in particular in developing countries, the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science aims to contribute to reducing the digital, technological and knowledge divides existing between and within countries.
The UNESCO Recommendation defines open science as “an inclusive construct that combines various movements and practices aiming to make multilingual scientific knowledge openly available, accessible and reusable for everyone, to increase scientific collaborations and sharing of information for the benefits of science and society, and to open the processes of scientific knowledge creation, evaluation and communication to societal actors beyond the traditional scientific community.”
It comprises all scientific disciplines and aspects of scholarly practices, including basic and applied sciences, natural and social sciences, and the humanities, and builds on the following key pillars: open scientific knowledge, open science infrastructures, science communication, open engagement of societal actors and open dialogue with other knowledge systems. The breadth of mechanisms that open science embodies makes it an ideal and applicable tool to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Open science has the potential to strengthen the links between science and societal needs, and to design the future of science in ways that accelerate the wide dissemination of knowledge in decades to come.
Developing a sustainable and equitable model for the adoption of open science across the globe necessitates an international framework for open science policy and practice that recognizes disciplinary and regional differences in open science perspectives. This is why, in November 2021, the 193 Member States of UNESCO, the UN Organization with the mandate of Science, adopted a new standard-setting instrument on open science in the form of a UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. This is the first international legal instrument that provides a common definition, core values and guiding principles and key areas of action for a fair and equitable implementation of open science practices worldwide.
Through seven key areas of action, and taking into account academic freedom, gender-transformative approaches and the specific challenges of scientists and other open science actors in different countries and in particular in developing countries, the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science aims to contribute to reducing the digital, technological and knowledge divides existing between and within countries.
The UNESCO Recommendation defines open science as “an inclusive construct that combines various movements and practices aiming to make multilingual scientific knowledge openly available, accessible and reusable for everyone, to increase scientific collaborations and sharing of information for the benefits of science and society, and to open the processes of scientific knowledge creation, evaluation and communication to societal actors beyond the traditional scientific community.”
It comprises all scientific disciplines and aspects of scholarly practices, including basic and applied sciences, natural and social sciences, and the humanities, and builds on the following key pillars: open scientific knowledge, open science infrastructures, science communication, open engagement of societal actors and open dialogue with other knowledge systems. The breadth of mechanisms that open science embodies makes it an ideal and applicable tool to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Guiding Questions:
Below are a few guiding questions to help spur creative thinking among prospective authors. Authors may develop and submit policy papers covering any aspect of open science policy and the SDGs, but these questions will help provoke ideas.
- Capacity building and sustainable infrastructures: What policy opportunities are there for using open science to catalyze capacity building, and to enhance education and training? How can socio-political and cultural variations be accounted for in governance systems to maximize opportunities to build sustainable infrastructures for open science?
- Public participation and collaborative governance: What tools, resources and policies would need to be made available in order to help consolidate clearly delineated, transparent public participation channels in open science? How do communities engage in the processes of knowledge co-production and decision making? How do we ensure the participation of marginalized communities in policymaking and collaborative governance?
- Citizen science and decision-making: How can national state and non-state actors adapt governance systems to make them more attentive to citizen science inputs? What policies, skills, or tools are needed to facilitate the recognition of citizen science in decision-making?
- Culture development and evaluation: How do we create effective policy environments for open science? How do we align institutional and societal structures to facilitate this environment? How do we evaluate the outcomes of open science and their ability to facilitate culture change in the scientific community and beyond?
- Linking science to policy: What strategies or interventions would be necessary to help ensure that science advice in policymaking is itself informed by a more comprehensive, international perspective? What can policymakers do to translate global understandings of science into context-specific interventions?
- Science for all: How can policymakers consider science and science advice to support international developmental strategies? What strategies, tools or governance systems would be required to help guarantee salient scientific knowledge is widely available when necessary?
- Standard-setting for knowledge creation: What role does standard-setting have in recognizing different forms of knowledge and the methods by which they have been created? How can standards be challenged or upheld by stakeholders? What other effects do standards have on the scientific cycle, public participation and policymaking?
Resources:
UNESCO Recommendations on Open Science
Open science is an accelerator for SDGs’: Ana Persic, UNESCO
Open Science Aims to Make Science More Accessible (video)
Open science is an accelerator for SDGs’: Ana Persic, UNESCO
Open Science Aims to Make Science More Accessible (video)
Flyer image source (VLADGRIN, Shutterstock)