European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers (Eurodoc), Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), Young Academy of Europe (YAE), International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA), and Global Young Academy (GYA) publish a joint statement on the EU Council conclusions on Research Assessment and the Implementation of Open Science, and multilingualism.
In their recent conclusions on research assessment, the implementation of Open Science, and multilingualism, the EU Council addresses several of our earlier concerns with the implementation of Open Science and Plan S, as well as shortcomings identified in our recent survey on open science. Moreover, the conclusions draw clear connections to related issues in career development and training of researchers, as well as gender, biases, and other inequalities.
The EU Council takes explicit note of good research culture, reforming the research assessment system, and the development of the European Framework for Research Careers as important cornerstones of research assessment. Further, they call for transparency and diversity, common European approaches, as well as more coherent frameworks, guidelines, and training with regards to scientific publishing. Particularly with regard to multilingualism, the EU Council advocates for a wider, inclusive, and open action in how scientific research is communicated.
We commend the Council for this vision, express our support to the cause, and offer our views on the implementation.
Oleksandr Berezko, the President of Eurodoc, said, “Eurodoc has been actively advocating for the implementation of Open Science and is constantly monitoring the progress on different levels. Today the reform of research assessment incentivising Open Science practices is an urgent need, and we commend the EU Council on this update.”
Sebastian Dahle, Vice President of Eurodoc, added, “Although momentum is growing in these matters, it is a promising sign to see the EU Council urging for realisation of reforms with regards to research assessment and open science, as well as for more openness and diversity in scholarly communication overall.”
The joint statement is available on Zenodo:
Eurodoc, MCAA, YAE, ICoRSA, & GYA. (2022). Joint Statement on the EU Council conclusions on Research Assessment and the Implementation of Open Science. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7066808