Open science webinar on ‘Developing collaborative governance for open science

This webinar focussed on consolidating public participation in open science, engaging societal actors beyond the scientific community, and promoting the inclusion of knowledge from traditionally marginalized scholars.

Moderator:
Ona Ambrozaite, UNMGCY SPI Tech Focal Point & PhD student, JHU

Panelists:
Kate Hertweck, Program Manager, Open Science, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Nick Shockey, Director of Programs & Engagement for SPARC

Uta Wehn, Adlerbert Visiting Professor on Marine Citizen Science for sustainable development at Gothenburg University and Associate Professor of Water Innovation Studies at IHE Delft in the Netherlands

Rajesh Tandon, UNESCO Co-Chair in Community Based Research & Social Responsibility in Higher Education, India

Dr. Tandon stated that knowledge resides in multiple sites, HEIs are one of them. Experiential knowledge and indigenous knowledge are equally important as rich sites of knowledge. Actionable change requires communities’ own participation in framing research questions. Community engagement in framing SDG priorities, and in engaging local stakeholders like local government institutions in a contextual manner is crucial.

Dr. Uta Wehn stated that open science is an umbrella term under which there are many ways of engaging with societal actors in ways of knowledge production. There exist communities of practice that have tried to deliberate on development in science policies. The practitioner community is very well organised and is already engaging with scientific policies, and its important to learn from and communicate with such communities.

Dr. Tandon stated that the UNESCO Open Science Recommendation provides a universal policy framework for building bridges across segments of science. In India, the new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy has an opening chapter on Open Science. What is now important is to share and learn from researchers, especially young researchers and find ways of implementing these recommendations in partnership with them.

Mr. Nick Shockey spoke about thinking about who builds the research tools and resources, and who benefits from them in order to prioritise the right interests, for achieving Article 27 of UNDHR

Kate Hertweck spoke about funding, and how funders even with large budgets can’t do everything at once. Since approaches to carry out research have to be picked and chosen, and constantly have to be assessed this match making takes time and it leads to unpredictable results, which must be expected, since different contexts require different approaches.