Validating the Outcomes of the 'Science 2.0: Science in Transition' Public Consultation

Robotics

Background

‘Science 2.0’ describes the on-going evolution in the modus operandi of doing research and organising science in Europe. These changes in the dynamics of science and research are enabled by digital technologies and driven by the globalisation of the scientific community, as well as the need to address the Grand Challenges of our times. They have an impact on the entire research cycle, from the inception of research to its publication, as well as on the way in which this cycle is organised.

The goal of the consultation was to better understand the full societal potential of 'Science 2.0' as well as the desirability of any possible policy action.

The three main objectives of the consultation were:

  • to assess the degree of awareness amongst the stakeholders of the changing modus operandi
  • to assess the perception of the opportunities and challenges and
  • to identify possible policy implications and actions to strengthen the competitiveness of the European science and research system by enabling it to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by Science 2.0

Goals

The European Commission asked RAND Europe to visualise and present the factual outcomes of the public consultation on 'Science 2.0: Science in Transition,' as well as to facilitate an interactive website on which participants and interested individuals and organisations could follow and comment on the validation process of the public consultation.

Findings

A key finding was that majority of the respondents to the public consultation preferred the term 'Open Science' to be used for the phenomena described in the background paper to the Public Consultation (PDF). A majority of respondents saw a need for policy intervention in this area, and they emphasised the importance of enabling the research community to drive change. Stakeholders called for more research about Open Science (to inform policy-making); for more communication and awareness-raising; and for support for Open Science infrastructure (e.g. for data sharing, curation and storage). Areas for concern included potential negative impacts on careers of Open Science-related requirements, and a lack of digital skills among researchers.

The final report (PDF) on the consultation has been published by the European Commission.