Category Archives: oa.development

Pathways to Opening Access to Agricultural Research Knowledge in India

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Scroll to p. 305. Abstract:  New knowledge is created by analysing and processing data and information. Having access to data and information promotes the generation of science, the communication of science, and the creation and adoption of new knowledge. All Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include agriculture as an integral component, and agriculture should be prosperous and sustainable to achieve any SDG. Besides developing skilled and talented human resources, the Indian Agricultural Research System seeks to offer quality data and information to stakeholders to improve agricultural production, processing, and exports. However, access remains restricted despite the availability of data and information, making it impossible to achieve desired results. The purpose of this paper is to summarise how data, information and knowledge of NARS [e National Agricultural Research System] are available and accessible to various stakeholders during various phases of World Bank-supported projects and how the availability and accessibility to data and information exist in NARS.

Open Science Policies as an Accelerator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

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“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 10, 2022. …”

Connecting Sustainable Development, Publishing Ethics, and the North-South Divide – The Scholarly Kitchen

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“The divide between the North and the South in scholarly publishing is often discussed and studied. We have also made some progress in reducing this gap, for example, in accessing research (e.g., Research4Life brings many global publishers under one umbrella to support the Global South), in publishing research (e.g., open access (OA) journals offer article processing charge (APC) waivers and discounts to researchers of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)), and in reducing geographical inequity (e.g., by publishing regional OA journals). Although we don’t often talk about the North-South divide in publishing ethics, a recent study shows a large variation in the awareness of academic integrity at the universities in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Developing countries’ organized battles against predatory journals can also be seen on some rare occasions….”

Connecting Sustainable Development, Publishing Ethics, and the North-South Divide – The Scholarly Kitchen

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“Recently, I was preparing a talk for a NISO Plus 2022’s (February 15-17, 2022) panel on ‘Working towards a more ethical information community’. I started asking myself, if sustainable development works towards a just and ethical society, how does it deal with the Global North-South divide in the ethics of scholarly publishing?… 

Under global programs, like Research4Life, institutions of my Least Developed Country (LDC), Bangladesh, are now accessing thousands of journals for free and researchers are enjoying the APC waivers offered by many journals. But, all this will change in 2026, when Bangladesh will graduate from the LDC list. Do we realize that a change in a country’s economic status does not necessarily correspond with a change in that country’s research system and investments in it? Have we thought of any ethical coping mechanism for the researchers and authors of countries in similar economic transitions?

We need to ask ourselves, as we work toward the SDGs, can we really have an ethical scholarly community without addressing such a dynamic North-South divide? More specifically, are we contextualizing enough the ethical considerations of the North for the South as we address this divide? …”

 

UCT Open Textbook Journeys | UCT Libraries

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Abstract:  The UCT Open Textbook Journeys monograph tells the stories of 11 academics at the University of Cape Town who embarked on open textbook development initiatives in order to provide their students with more accessible and locally relevant learning materials. Produced by the Digital Open Textbooks for Development (DOT4D) initiative, the monograph contributes towards a better understanding of open textbook production by providing details related to authors’ processes and their reflections on their work. The collection aims to provide rich anecdotal evidence about the factors driving open textbook activity and shed light on how to go about conceptualising and producing open textbooks, and to aid the articulation of emerging open textbook production models that advance social justice in higher education.

 

Access to Seeds Index 2021 dataset for Western and Central Africa | World Benchmarking Alliance

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“On 21 September 2021, we launched the third Access to Seeds Index with a focus on companies in Western and Central Africa. The index assesses seed companies on their efforts to make quality seeds accessible to smallholder farmers.

These companies are assessed using the 2021 Access to Seeds Index, which includes 32 across six measurement areas.

The datasheet contains information on the scores of each of these companies. Scores for each company are publicly available at the indicator level for all stakeholders. Individual company results are presented in company scorecards and detailed assessments….”

Live Webinar: Sustainable development goals and scholarly communications – 1511374

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“Please join us for this free, one-hour panel discussion and find out why (and how) libraries, research bodies and publishers alike should embrace the UN’s sustainable development goals – many of them brought into sharp focus at the recent COP26 summit – to benefit the global community.”

Open Position: Software Engineer, 18 month full-time or part-time. FTE Salary £24-35k depending on experience @ Open Book Publishers

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One of COPIM’s consortial partners, Open Book Publishers, are looking for a software engineer who is enthusiastic about open source and Open Access initiatives, to join their small energetic team.

OBP is taking a leading role in developing open source infrastructure to support open access book publishing. They are presently:

responsible for the development of the Open Dissemination System and Archiving and Preservation services for open access books within the Research England and Arcadia Fund financed COPIM project

providing hosting services for a number of Open Access initiatives and projects

in the process of re-developing OBP’s own website to provide an open source and white label website for other Open Access book publishers to adopt

expecting to be involved in other similar initiatives over the coming months.

OBP are seeking a versatile software engineer to work alongside their existing development team across these development projects.

Using citizen science data to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals: a bottom?up analysis – CS Track

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“This research explores whether citizen science data could be used to improve the monitoring of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By investigating this issue from the perspective of citizen science, this research finds that citizen science projects see both valuable opportunities as well as deep-rooted barriers in linking their data to the SDGs….”

Data governance: Enhancing access to and sharing of data – OECD

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“Access to and sharing of data are increasingly critical for fostering data-driven scientific discovery and innovations across the private and public sectors globally and will play a role in solving societal challenges, including fighting COVID-19 and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But restrictions to data access, sometimes compounded by a reluctance to share, and a growing awareness of the risks that come with data access and sharing, means economies and societies are not harnessing the full potential of data.

Adopted in October 2021, the OECD Recommendation on Enhancing Access to and Sharing of Data (EASD) is the first internationally agreed upon set of principles and policy guidance on how governments can maximise the cross-sectoral benefits of all types of data – personal, non-personal, open, proprietary, public and private – while protecting the rights of individuals and organisations.

The Recommendation intends to help governments develop coherent data governance policies and frameworks to unlock the potential benefits of data across and within sectors, countries, organisations, and communities. It aims to reinforce trust across the data ecosystem, stimulate investment in data and incentivise data access and sharing, and foster effective and responsible data access, sharing and use across sectors and jurisdictions.

The Recommendation is a key deliverable of phase 3 of the OECD’s Going Digital project, focused on data governance for frowth and well-being. It was developed by three OECD Committees (Digital Economy Policy, Scientific and Technological Policy, and Public Governance) and acts as a common reference for existing and new OECD legal instruments related to data in areas such as research, health and digital government. It will provide a foundation stone for ongoing OECD work to help countries unlock the potential of data in the digital era.”

Open Access Australasia Webinar

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“The contribution of open access to the UN Sustainable Development Goals presented by Director of Research and Corporate at UNSW Library, Fiona Bradley

The UN Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2016. Five years in, great progress has been made in some areas while others lag. When the goals were adopted, the importance of data, evidence, and research to demonstrate progress was emphasised, but how much has been achieved and what role does open access play?

Join us for a brief overview of the process that led to the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda process and the ongoing review mechanisms will emphasize the agenda as a tool for advocacy at global, national, and local institutional levels in which open access and access to information contribute to underpinning the achievement of all other goals.”

Open Access is Key to the Sustainable Development Goals – Librarian Resources

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“Open Access is key to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals are reliant on improved access to information and knowledge, therefore creating a clear link between Open Access, access to information, and sustainable development.

Open Access supports the importance of immediate access and access to all. Open access publishing makes scientific results available to everyone and facilitates new discoveries and empowers researchers through rapid and efficient access to knowledge.
Open Access benefits researchers, innovators, teachers, students, media professionals and the public.
It promotes global knowledge flow for the benefit of scientific discovery, innovation, and socio-economic development. Open Access is beneficial to all users in all countries, but disproportionately limits users in developing countries who have poor or non-existent acquisition budgets….

UNESCO “believes that universal access to high quality education is key to the building of peace, sustainable social and economic development, and intercultural dialogue.” International organizations such as UNESCO already recognize this connection and officially recognize open access as a driver for achievement of the SDGs and sustainable social, political, and economic development. UNESCO believes that Open Access has a fundamental role to support the SDGs and supports the agendas of Open Access….”

Data Informed Societies Achieving Sustainability Tasks for the Global Scientific Engineering and Medical Communities A Virtual Workshop | National Academies

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“The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene a virtual public workshop, Data-Informed Societies Achieving Sustainability: Tasks for the Global Scientific, Engineering, and Medical Communities on September 9 and 10 (Thursday and Friday). Please register in advance to receive information on how to participate in the workshop.  

The workshop will explore how the global scientific, engineering, and medical communities can better facilitate the effective use of data to advance sustainability in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The workshop will also discuss crosscutting issues, such as strengthening the engagement of scientific, engineering, and medical communities in efforts to shape the post-2030 agenda on data-related issues, addressing disparities in the ability of societies to utilize data, and highlighting insights and lessons learned from global experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. …”