The conduct of scientific research is not fully adapted to the digital age. There are many opportunities for improvement, notably with regard to the openness of research processes and results, the speed of access to these results and the reproducibility of scientific research. Adopting the practice of these Open Science principles results in better science, greater confidence in that science and the ability to address global challenges.
However, this potential can only be realised if research infrastructures evolve to allow scientists to exploit, in an integrated and user-friendly environment, the relevant data being produced.
Indeed, infrastructures are the foundation that support the vision of Open Science. If articles, data, code and other products of scientific research constitute the content that should be available under FAIR principles, the Open Science infrastructure consists of the tools and metadata through which these scientific products are created, shared and evaluated. It is essential that metadata be readable by software agents, so that support for automated interoperability and reusability can be provided.
Other attributes of data that are important for Open Science include reliability and citability. Techniques for assessing and rating trustworthiness are essential to enable proper reuse of data (and to avoid harmful reuse). Citability is an important step towards recognition of scientific work and consequent publication of relevant data. The definition and use of DOIs (digital object identifiers) is an example of a useful technique for the unique identification of articles or data.
Infrastructures that semantically link entities in the scientific system to each other, such as persistent identifiers (PIDs) and standardised forms of collection, expressing themselves as metadata and semantically linking the PIDs, are also needed.
Open Science: The role of the Unit FCCN
FCCN provides services and infrastructures for Open Science related to open access to publications, research data or Open Education. Examples of this are the DOI registration service for assigning identifiers to articles, research data and other digital objects produced within the scope of national scientific activity; the PUBIN service, which promotes the modernization of publishing lifecycle management platforms in order to embrace Open Science concepts; or the RCAAP initiative, which provides the teaching and research community with access to a network of repositories facilitating the practice of open access.
Also in the field of research data management, services are being developed that will allow researchers to manage and share their research results, namely a register of data management plans and a research data repository service.
As far as infrastructures are concerned, the activities carried out by the PTCRIS. PTCRIS is a structuring programme for science and technology management that aims to promote the integration of various information systems supporting scientific activity, in order to simplify administrative processes and facilitate the production, management and access to reliable data on scientific activity. To this end, the PTCRIS is dedicated to the definition of a normative interoperability framework (set of rules to be adopted by the systems regarding PIDs, semantics, data model, among others), as well as the development of support infrastructures, such as the national funding register or the authoritative register of organisations.
Committed to the principles of Open Science, FCCN thus aims, through various activities, to contribute to increasing efficiency in research, promoting transparency and knowledge of the scientific process and democratizing access to this knowledge, in order to boost development!
