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Open Science

Open Science stands for the paradigm of making science and thus the basis and the results of scientific research accessible to the public. Free access to scientific publications and research data as well as the inclusion of other areas of Open Science are essential for the promotion of transparency and reproducibility in research and contribute to the quality of scientific work. Open Science promotes the interconnectedness and democratisation of knowledge and creates added value for society, politics and the economy.

swissuniversities supports various endeavours that enable open access to science and research:

  • the shared use of research data (Open Research Data),
  • free access to scientific publications (Open Access),
  • and other innovative open science practices at the nexus of science and society, politics and the economy.

In light of these endeavours towards open science, universities and national ERI partner organisations have established a close cooperation over recent years. It is only through a unified and systematic approach that the cultural change in science towards Open Science can succeed.

Governance

The Board of swissuniversities has instituted the Delegation Open Science (DelOS) for the thematic area of open science. The DelOS has the task of observing, anticipating and coordinating developments as well as drawing up statements, decision-making bases and positions. This includes cooperation with the universities and national ERI partner organisations, particularly with regard to infrastructure development, challenges in dealing with research data and publications, as well as issue areas that may evolve in the context of Open Science. The DelOS is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the Open Access strategy in Switzerland and coordinates the activities for the ORD strategy that are within the responsibility of swissuniversities.

In particular, the Delegation Open Science also acts as the steering committee of the Open Science programme. It is responsible for the scheme and the achievement of the objectives within the programme mandate and has decision-making authority for the positioning of swissuniversities within this framework.

Strategic Activities

In addition to the strategic work in the areas of Open Access and Open Research Data, the Delegation Open Science pursues the topic at national and international level. For instance, the Vice-President of the delegation, Prof Dr Christian Schwarzenegger, is a member of the Expert Group on Open Science of the European University Association. As part of its strategic and conceptual preparations in 2019-2021, the Delegation issued mandates to shed light on the various dimensions of Open Science.