OECD report on "Making Open Science a Reality"

The OECD’s recent report on “Making Open Science a Reality" reviews progress in making the results of publicly-funded research papers and data available by Open Access, looking at the rationale behind open access and the impact which open access policies have made so far, the legal barriers to progress and a review of the key actors in the field.

The report is available both in PDF format and in standard html format.

The main conclusions of the report are as follows:

• Open Science is a means to support better quality science, increased collaboration, better engagement between research and society, and higher social and economic impact of public research
• Open science policies should be principle-based but adapted to local realities, taking into account the needs of the different participants involved in research projects
• Better incentive mechanisms are needed to promote data-sharing practices among researchers
• Better data skills are essential for researchers, students and citizens;
• Training and awareness-raising among researchers is important for the development of an open science culture
• Repositories and online platforms will not have impact if the information they contain is not of good quality.

Steve Smith
Library