Presented during the AOSP High-level Stakeholder Meeting on 3 and 4 September 2018, Pretoria, Centurion.

1. Europe’s Open Science Policy
and Policy Platform
Rationale, achievements and lessons learnt
JC Burgelman
Roy Keesenberg
Rene Von Schomberg
DG RTD
EC Brussels
AOSP WS, DST
Pretoria
3-4 September 2018

2. Systemic transition of science system which
affects the way
• research is performed
• knowledge is shared/diffused/preserved
• research projects/results are evaluated
• research is funded
• researchers are rewarded
• future researchers are trained
Affecting the whole research cycle and all its stakeholders
 A typical techno-economic paradigm shift a la Perez (technology,
market and institutional change go hand in hand)
 or to put it different: disruptive and hence disturbing….
Europe has a holistic view on OS

3. • Better ROI of the R&I investments: self evident: if all
the results of our public research are made reusable, it will follow
that better use is made
• Faster circulation of new ideas: we have 22 million EU
SME's that will have access to top notch research without having to
significantly pay for it!
• More transparency of the science system as such:
the public taxpayer has this right
• Fit for 21st century science purpose: all grand societal
challenges NEED cross disciplinary research
For researchers:
• Wider dissemination and sharing of the results
• More visibility and credit for those collecting and sharing underlying
research data
• New career paths e.g. data scientists, start-ups, science diplomacy
Why is OS important?

4. 2005 first decisions, leading to
FP7
OA Green or
Gold+Green
Pilot
H2020
OA Green or
Gold+Green
obligation
& ORD Pilot
H2020
OA Green or
Gold+Green
obligation
& ORD by
default
OS policy in the EC is there since 2005

5. Source: RTD
European researchers face data fragmentation
and unequal access to quality information sets
The European Open Science Cloud is the
logical follow up of the EC’s open data policy
Researcher
CERN, EMBL,
ELIXIR, etc.
Institutional
repository
Member State
Infrastructure
Access to
data and
resources
Limited and limiting access for an ordinary European researcher
• Fragmented access
(across scientific
domains, countries and
governance models;
varying access policies)
• Limited cross-disciplinary
access to data sets (i.e.
interdisciplinary research)
• Non-interoperable
services and data
• Closed data
5

6. 6
Source: RTD
EOSC will allow for universal access to open research data and create a new level
playing field for EU researchers
CERN, EMBL,
ELIXIR, etc.
Institutional
repository
Member State
Infrastructure
New provider/
service
Researcher • Easy access through a universal access
point for ALL European researchers
• Cross-disciplinary access to data
unleashes potential of interdisciplinary
research
• Services and data are interoperable (FAIR
data)
• Data funded with public money is in
principle open (as open as possible, as
closed as necessary)
1.Access to all European research data
2.Access to world-class data services
3.Clear rules of use and service provision
4.FAIR data tools, training and standards
5.Sustainable after the grant
Seamless environment and enabling interdisciplinary research
6
EOSC: a researcher-centric project

7. EOSC’s public service rationale
• 1. (Research) data will be the new (money making) frontier in
the science industry.
• 2. This will lead to lock in strategies of the user/researcher at
all phases of the value chain/research process (grant proposal
to blog).
• 3. EOSC is therefore much more than making data available in
open formats. It is our policy guarantee to safeguard the public
character of publicly funded research in Europe and hence use
science for the issues society deems relevant (EOSC is
commons).

8. The EU’s Open Science Policy Platform was a
bottom up demand too
• Created in 2016 - as such the first of his kind in the world
• Top level political backing BUT independent from politics
• Hosting 26 top level representatives from the science
stakeholders
• Mandate to offer integrated advice to the EC on open science
and how to translate that into policy
• Mode: co-creation
• Task: to mobilise the stakeholders to take on board the advice
(not a ‘’Brussels’’ dictate policy)

9. Political framing
May 2015 Competitiveness Council.
• Welcomed the development of an Open Science Agenda and
agreed that stakeholder engagement is crucial for
1. the successful advancement of Open Science and
2. to fulfil the shared expectation that Open Science will
radically increase the quality and impact of European science.
Spring 2016
• Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation decided
to establish an Open Science Policy Platform to support the
development of Open Science Policy.
• The Platform consists of a Group of 25+ key representatives,
at the highest level, of the key stakeholders of the European
research system.

10. Purpose, objectives and scope
Eight topics were identified that needed to be addressed
through dedicated OSPP Working Groups:
 FAIR Open Data
 Open Science Cloud
 Changing business models for scientific publishing
 Altmetrics
 Rewards
 Open Science Education and Skills
 Research Integrity
 Citizen Science

11. OSPP (2016-2018): lessons learned
In May 2018 the OSPP delivered their integrated advice on the
eight Open Science topics.
• The election and composition of the group was highly visible
and disputed
• Thin line between offering integrated advice and defending
vested interests
• People make the difference….
• Running the OSPP requires thorough preparation of the work
plan and meetings, a high level of secretarial support and
experts that can dedicate enough time to the OSPP to ensure
targets are reached on time.
• 100% consensus never possible - so it is important to have to
option to move forward on certain topics even when full
consensus is lacking.

12. To conclude
• Europe is certainly leading the way in Open Science
….up till now … because we think it is essential for science
and innovation
• The OSPP was a crucial instrument to offer a place where
offen conflicting interests could meet.
• Spinning off key achievements (like EOSC) is essential to
guarantee functional approaches remain the focus
• On the mid to long term a soft policy approach (as now)
needs to be replaced by a more regulatory approach.
• After all science is also a business like any other where
guaranteeing maximum competition at the best price and
quality is as valid as in any other industry