Conference: Pathways to Open Scholarship
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Knowledge Exchange initiative, we invited experts in the field of digital technologies in research and higher education to discuss "Pathways to Open Scholarship", at an international event which took place in Helsinki on 30 November and 1st December 2015.
The Knowledge Exchange partner organisations are convinced that digital technologies create innovative new opportunities for the advancement of research and higher education. Open Scholarship is promoted as one of these opportunities. Through, opening up access to scientific output (publications, data and software) and also by encouraging openness to methods and collaboration, research can be enhanced, building trust in research through transparency and increasing effective use, sharing and participation. Digital technologies underpin these possibilities.
Over the past decade the activities of Knowledge Exchange have contributed to the international dialogue on crucial technologies and policies that support increased openness and access to information.
Whilst there has been significant progress, open scholarship is not yet a reality of everyday research and there are a number of complex issues to be navigated. Through this event, Knowledge Exchange aim to put the concept of "open scholarship" to the test by debating issues and key challenges with the aim to identify pathways forward, around four central themes which represent crucial dimensions of open scholarship:
- Benefits, risks and limitations of Open Scholarship: this theme is dealing with the general issues including social and political dimensions
- Success as a researcher: a theme centered around the researcher's perspective including career planning, rewarding mechanisms and incentives, performance metrics and competitiveness
- Technology: a theme to discuss tools, platforms, the role of standards, infrastructure, and considerations on future developments a technology forecast
- Publishing and publication services: this theme is already under debate for more than two decades and still it's crucial. It will include legal and financial dimensions of Open Scholarship.
Open Scholarship Wishlist
As the conference was held in Helsinki in December, it seemed appropriate, as a starting point for future planning and ahead of the publication of the final report, to write a wish list for Santa Claus on behalf of Open Scholarship. The wishlist was launched in late December 2015.
Report: Pathways to Open Scholarship
Knowledge Exchange collected ideas, considerations and expectations from the two days of discussion and combined in a conference report. The report contains views, expectations, wishes and frustrations that experts have on open scholarship, as well as new and promising initiatives and approaches. The report is a starting point for planning future KE activities and input for a range of consultation talks with respected experts and leaders in the research community in KE countries and beyond.
