Open Science Value Proposition

I am participating in a series of Open Science consultations within NRC, an effort that I hope will have long-term value for the organization and for Canadians. My first input is below:

Supporting open science helps NRC be better at science, maximizes the impact of NRC work, and delivers the best value for the investment made by Canadians in research and development.

It makes NRC netter at science because open science opens the doors to worldwide collaboration with research institutes, universities, and industry. Science today requires a collaborative global effort, and this is possible only with the open exchange of ideas, research results, and development. Some examples of this impact include:
- lower cost for ongoing professional development and maintenance of knowledge and skills in advanced science
- access to large pools of data for a small percent of the cost of producing them ourselves
- open peer review and assessment of our work from the leading experts in the world
- shared access to critical infrastructure
- collaborative development of open access tools such as computing platforms, tools and services

In a similar manner, open science enables NRC to maximize the impact of its own work. Open publishing ensures that researchers, scientists and the general public are able to examine and evaluate NRC research results. And NRC research contributes to the global effort, leveraging our work with others to achieve wider impact. Some examples of this benefit include:

- common citation indices to facilitate discipline-wide literature reviews and research evaluation
- clear demonstration of NRC skills and expertise as a lead-in to partnerships with Canadian industry
- achievement of outcomes not possible without collaboration (such as international disease research, climate change research, the International Space Station)
- promotion of science and technology to Canadians to stimulate youth to consider careers in the field

Finally, open science delivers the best value for the Canadian investment in research and development because it is accessible to the largest number of people. All Canadians, no matter what their standing, will be able to leverage NRC research to develop their own inventions, businesses, or enterprise. And participation in global open research means that all Canadians have access to the work not only of Canadian researchers, but of work from researchers worldwide.
- open access for all Canadians to NRC research publications
- creation of a scientific infrastructure (communities of practice, data exchange network, etc) that can be shared by Canadian academics and industry
- open participation, voice and representation in global industrial consortia, thus enabling Canadian industry to inform these bodies as well as learn about standards and industrial processes at the earliest opportunity