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Written by Eszter Fay with Niklas Dreier.

In the fast-evolving landscape of scientific research, the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) Academic Freedom Roundtable ‘Research Integrity in Open Science for Europe’ brought together researchers and European policymakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by Open Science. Amidst insightful discussions on Open Science’s challenges and ethical dimensions, the event, held on 21 February 2024, invited us to question who truly benefits from Open Science’s promise of transparency and societal impact? How does Open Science reshape our understanding of research excellence?

Open Science as a policy priority for the European Union

As we navigate a time where scepticism toward science is prevalent, STOA Vice-Chair Ivars Ijabs (Renew, Latvia) underscored the need to increase transparency and trustworthiness in scientific endeavours by facilitating Open Science. EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth Iliana Ivanova reaffirmed the EU’s policy commitment to promoting Open Science. Yet, in this very endeavour, Commissioner Ivanova emphasised the importance of developing assessment methods that measure research excellence beyond traditional measures such as citations. The evaluative focus, she noted, should be on rewarding and fostering research with a positive societal impact. These introductory remarks thus raised the question: Who benefits from Open Science research?

Open Science for and by whom?

Professor Frank Miedema, from the University of Utrecht, stressed in his keynote on ‘Science in Transition’ the need to question why and for whom we should pursue Open Science. He advocated for a shift from ‘science for science’ to ‘science for society’, echoing Commissioner Ivanova’s position. While advocating for more data accessibility, Professor Miedema also highlighted the importance of considering scenarios where withholding research data might be pertinent. Likewise, Marcel Bogers, Professor of Open & Collaborative Innovation at Eindhoven University of Technology, cautioned against excessive data openness, drawing parallels between Open Science and his expertise in open innovation. Referring to a recent open innovation study, he demonstrated that beyond an optimal threshold, excessive openness may detrimentally affect performance. Professor Bogers asserted that advancing Open Science would require a reassessment of how research is incentivised, alluding to challenges linked to fostering and evaluating the excellence of Open Science research.

Assessing research quality: Challenges to Open Science

The subsequent panel discussed the challenges hindering the transition to Open Science. Dr Elizabeth Gadd, Head of Research Culture & Assessment at Loughborough University, underscored the need to revamp the incentive and assessment system for research. Dr Gadd introduced the INORMS SCOPE Framework as a solution to assess research quality beyond traditional citation metrics, thereby also mitigating global inequalities in scientific output assessment. The SCOPE framework, an acronym for START, CONTEXT, OPTIONS, PROBE, and EVALUATE, offers a comprehensive five-stage model for responsible research evaluation, guiding evaluators in planning and assessing research endeavours. This framework is based on three principles advocating a discerning and strategic approach to evaluation. First, evaluating only where necessary, stressing the importance of considering alternative strategies. Second, evaluating with the evaluated, emphasising collaboration and inclusivity by involving the communities or individuals under evaluation. Third, drawing on evaluation expertise, underscoring the necessity for a thorough and informed evaluation process aligned with academic research standards to ensure validity, reliability and comprehensive understanding.

Signe Mezinska, Associate Professor at the University of Latvia, emphasised the social disparities within the scientific community and across countries, especially regarding the economic costs associated with publishing according to Open Science principles. Elaborating on these inequalities, Henriikka Mustajoki, Head of Development, Open Science, Finland, grounded the justification for the Open Science movement in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While advocating for data accessibility to all, she acknowledged the potential systemic pressures that widespread openness might pose to Open Science researchers’ academic freedom and freedom of speech. Kadri Simm, Chair of Practical Philosophy at the University of Tartu, and Olivier Le Gall, Chair of the French Advisory Board on Research Integrity, further identified potential challenges arising from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, particularly regarding confidentiality in handling diverse data sources. To address these challenges, the experts on the panel delved into the ethical dimensions of Open Science and discussed the Responsible Open Science in Europe (ROSiE) guidelines as a potential solution to ethical conflicts.

An ethical framework for Open Science: Responsible Open Science in Europe (ROpen ScienceiE) general guidelines and academic freedom

Professor Rose Bernabe from the University of Oslo presented the ROSiE guidelines project and advocated for their inclusion in the European definition of academic freedom. Funded by the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, the project aims to collaboratively develop and foster foundational tools that facilitate responsible Open Science and research integrity. As Dr Simm noted that specific approaches to Open Science conflict with each other, she also emphasised that the ROpen ScienceiE guidelines represent a promising initial move towards establishing a comprehensive ethical framework for Open Science.

The STOA Academic Freedom Roundtable highlighted the complexity and urgency of navigating the Open Science landscape. The event not only underscored the benefits of Open Science but also called attention to the challenges, which demand collaborative solutions. As we chart a course towards Open Science, embracing diverse perspectives and establishing responsible guidelines will be crucial to ensuring a future where research serves society while preserving academic freedom and ethical integrity.

For more details, you can watch the event recording.

Read the ESMH interview with Teodora Konach from the ROSiE project on ‘Paving the way towards responsible open science‘.

Your opinion matters to us. To let us know what you think, get in touch via stoa@europarl.europa.eu and follow us on X at @EP_ScienceTech.

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Millions of children are suffering from malnutrition in Afghanistan. Credit: Learning Together

By External Source
KABUL, Mar 22 2024 (IPS)

Malnutrition in Afghanistan has reached an unprecedented level, according to United Nations humanitarian organizations. It is estimated that half of the country’s population grapples with severe hunger year-round, placing Afghanistan among the top ten nations globally with the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality due to malnutrition.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is experiencing a budget shortfall, and without additional funding support thousands of Afghan children may die from acute malnutrition, the organization sounded out in a recent tweet.

The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that between May and October 2023, 15.5 million people faced severe food insecurity, with 2.8 million in emergency situations.

According to WFP, four million people, including 3.2 million children under five years are suffering from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan.

It largely stems from the worsening economic situation that has gripped the war-torn country within the last few years. Pregnant women do not have adequate access to proper nutrition both before and after birth, which cascades down to affect their infants.

The widespread hunger and malnutrition among the most vulnerable population groups in the country is also exacerbated by the rule of Taliban who returned to power in 2021.

The hard-line Islamists have banned women from engaging in salaried employment, which in turn has decreased the level of humanitarian assistance reaching women most in need.

For instance, Soheila, the mother of a malnourished child, gave a moving narrative of how the death of her husband has deepened poverty in the family. She became the sole breadwinner of the family, even though her earnings from working in a hairdressing salon could barely meet their needs, all of which dried up when the Taliban assumed power and she was no longer allowed to work.

Soheila and her two small children no longer have enough food and have resorted to begging in front of bakeries and around neighbours’ houses just to eat once a day.

Even though the Taliban Ministry of Health does not provide any statistics on the deaths of mothers and children due to malnutrition, international organizations and doctors working in the country provide a grim picture facing women and children in the country.

Last year, the United Nations Population Fund reported that Afghanistan is one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality rate in Asia and the Pacific, with 638 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.

Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, recently raised concerns about the worsening situation of malnutrition in Afghanistan. According to him, a significant number of children and women in 25 of Afghanistan’s 36 provinces are suffering from malnutrition.

Dr. Hamidullah Ahmadi, physician at the nutrition department of Kabul Children’s Health Hospital, says that the number of malnourished patients has increased compared to previous years due to poverty and the economic crisis.

He added that dozens of malnourished children are registered every day, in serious need of medical attention. Some of them suffer from moderate to acute malnutrition with imminent risk of severe health complications and death.

Dr. Soraya (pseudonym), an official of the nutrition department at the Children’s Health Hospital in Kabul, says the number of malnourished patients attending the facility has increased threefold in the last year, far below the medicines and material they receive from international organizations to treat them.

Soraya requests that aid organizations and the World Food Program address the issue of famine and hunger among Afghan children as soon as possible to avoid the occurrence mass starvation of children.

Excerpt:

The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons

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En visite au Bénin, le directeur général de l'Agence française de développement, Rémy Rioux a signé, un partenariat avec l'Ecole du patrimoine africain (Epa) à Porto-Novo. Le document d'accord de partenariat porte sur la ‘'restitution des biens culturels du Bénin : entre politiques publiques et enjeux patrimoniaux". Il s'agit d'un programme de recherche d'une durée de 3 ans qui permettra de documenter les étapes de restitution des 26 œuvres du Bénin, pillées par la France. Il permettra de mettre en place « un cadre théorique et opérationnel d'analyse des processus sociaux et juridico-politiques qui structurent la restitution des biens culturels, leur patrimonialisation et leur place dans les nouveaux paradigmes de coopération au développement ».

L'Ecole du patrimoine africain va fournir « des résultats tangibles en lien avec les savoirs, les techniques de conservation, les représentations communautaires, la patrimonialisation qui sont susceptibles d'être diffusés pour une meilleure gestion du patrimoine en Afrique ». Le directeur de l'EPA Franck Ogou s'est réjoui de la signature de cet accord de coopération avec l'AFD. « Nous manquons de production scientifique qui retrace l'histoire et le processus qui ont amené à la restitution des œuvres. Ce programme ambitionne de soutenir les recherches scientifiques des jeunes béninois, mais aussi africains qui ambitionnent de faire des programmes de Master et de Doctorat », a-t-il a ajouté

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