Category Archives: oa.sdgs

Social media data for environmental sustainability: A critical review of opportunities, threats, and ethical use: One Earth

Posted on by
Reply

Abstract:  Social media data are transforming sustainability science. However, challenges from restrictions in data accessibility and ethical concerns regarding potential data misuse have threatened this nascent field. Here, we review the literature on the use of social media data in environmental and sustainability research. We find that they can play a novel and irreplaceable role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by allowing a nuanced understanding of human-nature interactions at scale, observing the dynamics of social-ecological change, and investigating the co-construction of nature values. We reveal threats to data access and highlight scientific responsibility to address trade-offs between research transparency and privacy protection, while promoting inclusivity. This contributes to a wider societal debate of social media data for sustainability science and for the common good.

 

Open Science is Critical for Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – University Library | University of Saskatchewan

Posted on by
Reply

“Indeed, USask [U of Saskatchewan] researchers produce critically important research that could meaningfully advance the SDGs, especially in the Signature Areas of Research. But the results of research can only reach their full impact and potential if everyone everywhere has access to them: to build upon them and apply them in real world contexts. Unfortunately, many of the products of USask research are inaccessible, locked behind expensive publisher paywalls (in the case of publications), or simply not shared at all (in the case of all other products of research such as protocols, data, and working papers or reports). Making the products of research accessible is what Open Science is all about!…”

Positioning software source code as digital heritage for sustainable development | UNESCO

Posted on by
Reply

“The second annual symposium on the theme “Software Source Code as documentary heritage and an enabler for sustainable development” organized by UNESCO and the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) on 7 February 2023, took stock of the initiative’s achievements over the previous few years.

Throughout the conference, five major dimensions of software source code were explored:

as documentary heritage and as an enabler for digital skills education.
as a first-class research object in the open science ecosystem.
as an enabler for innovation and sharing in industry and administration.
its perspectives on long term preservation.
technological advances allowing massive analysis of software source code….”

Positioning software source code as digital heritage for sustainable development | UNESCO

Posted on by
Reply

“The second annual symposium on the theme “Software Source Code as documentary heritage and an enabler for sustainable development” organized by UNESCO and the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) on 7 February 2023, took stock of the initiative’s achievements over the previous few years.

Throughout the conference, five major dimensions of software source code were explored:

as documentary heritage and as an enabler for digital skills education.
as a first-class research object in the open science ecosystem.
as an enabler for innovation and sharing in industry and administration.
its perspectives on long term preservation.
technological advances allowing massive analysis of software source code….”

3rd UN Open Science Conference Recap: Open Science Central to Achieving UN Sustainability Goals – SPARC

Posted on by
Reply

“From mitigating climate change to preparing for the next pandemic, so many pressing challenges demand global collaboration. Yet many researchers don’t have access to the latest scientific discoveries or avenues to contribute their solutions. This is prompting a growing call for open science practices and a more equitable knowledge sharing ecosystem in which librarians can play a key role.

Participants in the 3rd United Nations Open Science Conference February 8-10 called for policy and culture change to democratize the record of science. There was a sense of urgency among the 100 people gathered in New York and 2,000 online at the hybrid event for research to be shared across borders in order to accelerate progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The conference emphasized three priorities: equity in open scholarship; reforming scientific publishing; and strengthening the science-policy-society interface….”

Open science – Accelerator for Sustainable Development Goals

Posted on by
Reply

“To promote the crucial roles of open science and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), measures must be taken to achieve equity and inclusion, reform academic publishing and strengthen the science-policy-society interface. This was the main message from the United Nations third Open Science Conference….”

Young policy experts author Special Issue on Open Science Policies as an Accelerator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals | UNESCO

Posted on by
Reply

“In December, the Journal of Science Policy & Governance published a Special Issue on Open Science Policies as an Accelerator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in collaboration with UNESCO and the Major Group for Children and Youth.

The special issue contains seven essays in the form of policy analysis, policy memos and policy position papers which address such topics as how to reduce barriers to open science, how to use open science to boost public participation and trust in science and the role that open science can play in addressing health and environmental issues and in maintaining science in a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic….”

Open Science Conference 2023 | United Nations

Posted on by
Reply

“Since 2019, when the Dag Hammarskjöld Library held the 1st Open Science Conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the global open movement has been significantly enriched with new national and international policies and frameworks as well as daring and visionary initiatives, both private and public.

At the 2nd Global Open Science Conference, From Tackling the Pandemic to Addressing Climate Change, in July 2021 more than a year into the pandemic that had upturned daily lives globally, participants from around the world engaged in a public dialogue focusing on what open science has learned from COVID-19 and how this can be applied into actions addressing the global climate crisis, at the interface of science, technology, policy and research. The Conference took stock of actions undertaken nationally and internationally, collected lessons learned and identified directions for the way forward. Open science was recognized as the keystone to assert everyone’s right “to share in scientific advancement and its benefits”. Speakers and audience asked for the complete overhaul of outdated scientific processes, publishing and research assessment practices that oppose open science principles, proposed global curation infrastructures for the record of science and platform-agnostic discovery services, as well as enhanced bibliodiversity, inclusivity, and multilingualism….”

Open Science Conference 2023 | United Nations

Posted on by
Reply

“On 23 November 2021, following an inclusive, transparent and multistakeholder consultative process, UNESCO’s Recommendation on Open Science was adopted by 193 Member States during the 41st session of the Organization’s General Conference. “This Recommendation outlines a common definition, shared values, principles and standards for open science at the international level and proposes a set of actions conducive to a fair and equitable operationalization of open science for all at the individual, institutional, national, regional and international levels.” So what comes next?

From 8 to 10 February 2023 – in the lead-up to the International Day of Women and Girls in Science –, the 3rd Open Science Conference will bring together policy makers, representatives of intergovernmental organizations, researchers, scholars, librarians, publishers and civil society. Under the theme Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals, Democratizing the Record of Science they will engage in a dialogue about the opportunities and challenges of practicing open science and explore initiatives, themes and perspectives into the open scientific method and the digital scholarly communications cycle….”

SDG 13-Climate Action & Open Science: Accelerating Practices

Posted on by
Reply

“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and open science are symbiotic processes. No SDG reveals this connection more strongly than SDG 13-Climate Action. This perspective uses the SDGs as a lens to explore open science practices and prospects. It illustrates, through the concept of Net-Zero, how open science has been an accelerator of SDG 13-Climate Action. It also shows how open science can be further advanced in the context of SDG 13, discussing related SDGs such as Goal 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Goal 16-Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions; and Goal 17-Partnerships for the Goals. In these ways, this perspective describes opportunities for open science and SDG-Climate Action to support and accelerate one another.”

Open Science, Mental Health, and Sustainable Development: A Proposed Model for a Low-Resource Setting

Posted on by
Reply

“Mental health is an important concern in low and middle income countries and must be addressed for sustainable development. Open science is a movement which can contribute significantly towards addressing mental health challenges. Mental health in India and other low and middle income countries faces many challenges, such as lack of resources and low investment. This policy brief proposes an intervention model using the core principles of open science to transform the mental health programmes run by local self-government institutions in India. The model can co-opt key stakeholders involved in the data collection, programme implementation, and monitoring for standardisation. Kerala’s participatory development experience is employed as a case to describe the model. By empowering frontline health workers, accredited volunteers, and officials of the childcare system, and implementing open science principles, this model could help address mental health challenges with minimal resource allocation through the streamlining of the data management process. It could also encourage increased participation in open science through the citizen science model, opening scientific research to non-specialists. Open science principles such as collective benefit, equity, participation, sustainability, and inclusiveness can also be promoted.”

 

Toppling the Ivory Tower: Increasing Public Participation in Research Through Open and Citizen Science

Posted on by
Reply

“Prior to the emergence of professional researchers, amateurs without formal training primarily made contributions to science in what is known as ‘citizen science.’ Over time, science has become less accessible to the public, while at the same time public participation in research has decreased. However, recent progress in open and citizen science may be the key to strengthening the relationship between researchers and the public. Citizen science may also be key to collecting data that would otherwise be unobtainable through traditional sources, such as measuring progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, despite myriad benefits, there has been limited legislative action taken to promote open and citizen science policies. The underlying issues are incentive systems which overemphasize publication in high impact, for-profit journals. The suggested policy solutions include: 1) creating an open database for citizen science projects, 2) restricting publishers from disadvantaging citizen science, and 3) incorporating open science in researcher evaluation.”

Equitable Research Capacity Towards the Sustainable Development Goals: The Case for Open Science Hardware

Posted on by
Reply

“Changes in science funders’ mandates have resulted in advances in open access to data, software, and publications. Research capacity, however, is still unequally distributed worldwide, hindering the impact of these efforts. We argue that to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), open science policies must shift focus from products to processes and infrastructure, including access to open source scientific equipment. This article discusses how conventional, black box, proprietary approaches to science hardware reinforce inequalities in science and slow down innovation everywhere, while also representing a threat to research capacity strengthening efforts. We offer science funders three policy recommendations to promote open science hardware for research capacity strengthening: a) incorporating open hardware into existing open science mandates, b) incentivizing demand through technology transfer and procurement mechanisms, c) promoting the adoption of open hardware in national and regional service centers. We expect this agenda to foster capacity building towards enabling the more equitable and efficient science needed to achieve the SDGs.”

Open Science Observatory – OpenAIRE Blog

Posted on by
Reply

“The Open Science Observatory (https://osobservatory.openaire.eu) is an OpenAIRE platform showcasing a collection of indicators and visualisations that help policy makers and research administrators better understand the Open Science landscape in Europe, across and within countries.  

The broader context: As the number of Open Science mandates have been increasing across countries and scientific fields, so has the need to track Open Science practices and uptake in a timely and granular manner. The Open Science Observatory assists the monitoring, and consequently the enhancing, of open science policy uptake across different dimensions of interest, revealing weak spots and hidden potential. Its release comes in a timely fashion, in order to support UNESCO’s global initiative for Open Science and the European Open Science Cloud (the current development and enhancement is co-funded by the EOSC Future H2020 project and will appear in the EOSC Portal).  …

How does it work: Based on the OpenAIRE Research Graph, following open science principles and an evidence-based approach, the Open Science Observatory provides simple metrics and more advanced composite indicators which cover various aspects of open science uptake such us

different openness metrics
FAIR principles
Plan S compatibility & transformative agreements
APCs

as well as measures related to the outcomes of Open Access research output as they relate to

network & collaborations
usage statistics and citations
Sustainable Development Goals

across and within European countries. ”