A presentation from Meredith Niles for out OpenCon webcast series. A recorded version of the presentation can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAsECctMdms

1. Using Open as an Asset
How your advocacy and commitment can help land you
the academic job you really want
Meredith T. Niles, PhD
Post-doctoral research fellow
Sustainability Science Program, Harvard University
Assistant Professor (August 2015)
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences/Food Systems Initative
University of Vermont

2. Using Open as an Asset
• Background on myself
• Using open as an asset
• Promoting open for academic
applications
• Promoting open in your job
interview
• Using open once you have the job
• Questions/Answers

3. My History
• UC Davis
• Research: Agriculture, Farmers
• Policy
• Personal
• Promoting open:
• On Campus
• In California
• Federally
• Harvard
• University of Vermont
• Why this webinar?

4. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open as a commitment to
research and science outside of
academia

5. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open as a commitment to
research and science outside of
academia
• The tides are turning. Gone are the
days of the ivory tower.
• Demonstrate you are going with the
wave, not against it

6. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open as a demonstration of organizing capacity

7. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open as a tool for collaboration

8. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open as a tool for collaboration
• “ I am a collaborative, multidisciplinary scientist committed to
ensuring that my research has the largest impact possible both
within and outside of academia”

9. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open as a tool for collaboration
• “ I am a collaborative, multidisciplinary scientist committed to
ensuring that my research has the largest impact possible both
within and outside of academia”
• “ I am committed to open source, open platform technologies that
ensure that my research can be as collaborative as possible and
have the largest possible reach. This is demonstrated through…

10. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open as a tool for collaboration
• “ I am a collaborative, multidisciplinary scientist committed to
ensuring that my research has the largest impact possible both
within and outside of academia”
• “ I am committed to open source, open platform technologies that
ensure that my research can be as collaborative as possible and
have the largest possible reach. This is demonstrated through…
• “Through an innovative use of open source platforms, I have been
able to establish collaborations with [….], which has enabled me to
accomplish […]

11. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open to demonstrate your alternative impact
• ImpactStory
• Alternative Metrics

12. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open to demonstrate your alternative impact
• ImpactStory
• Alternative Metrics
• Use them on your CV
• Use them in your research statement

13. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open to demonstrate your alternative impact
• ImpactStory
• Alternative Metrics
• Use them on your CV
• Use them in your research statement
• Think about other “impacts”
• Media stories about your work (did the media find the article because it was
open access?)
• Policymaker interactions
• Using open articles in K-12 education

14. Using Open As an Asset: The Interview
• Promoting your open impact
• Mention in your job talk which
papers are open access

15. Using Open As an Asset: The Interview
• Promoting your open impact
• Mention in your job talk which
papers are open access
• Have you used your open
publications outside of
academia?

16. Using Open As an Asset: The Interview
• Promoting your open impact
• Mention in your job talk which
papers are open access
• Have you used your open
publications outside of
academia?
• Citation bump
• Alternative metrics

17. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open
as the next big
thing
• It’s coming… and
I’m ahead of the
game.

18. Using Open As an Asset: The Application
• Promoting open
as the next big
thing
• It’s coming… and
I’m ahead of the
game.

19. Using Open As an Asset: The Interview
• Turning the tables: Asking THEM the questions
• Framing is important

20. Using Open As an Asset: The Interview
• Turning the tables: Asking THEM the questions
• Framing is important
• Does your school have an open access policy?
• Do you offer scholarships and funding/incentives for faculty to publish open
access?
• How much does your library spend on articles? Have they explored options to
reduce that?
• What are the perceptions/policies on open textbooks?
• What does the average student spend on textbooks?
• How does the school promote open data?

21. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have
the job: Changing the status
quo with your colleagues

22. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have
the job: Changing the status
quo with your colleagues
• Offer to give a presentation

23. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have
the job: Changing the status
quo with your colleagues
• Offer to give a presentation
• Dispel the myths

24. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have
the job: Changing the status
quo with your colleagues
• Offer to give a presentation
• Dispel the myths
• Provide resources

25. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have
the job: Changing the status
quo with your colleagues
• Offer to give a presentation
• Dispel the myths
• Provide resources
• Send out announcements (like
OpenCon applications!)

26. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have
the job: Changing the status
quo with your colleagues
• Offer to give a presentation
• Dispel the myths
• Provide resources
• Send out announcements (like
OpenCon applications!)
• Think big within your whole
school (or small, depending on
the situation)

27. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have the job: Lead by example

28. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have the job: Lead by example
• Archive your work!

29. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have the job: Lead by example
• Archive your work!
• Share publications/presentations

30. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have the job: Lead by example
• Archive your work!
• Share publications/presentations
• Write open access charges into your grant proposals

31. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have the job: Lead by example
• Archive your work!
• Share publications/presentations
• Write open access charges into your grant proposals
• Establish an “open mentality” with your collaborators when you
start the grant writing process (you can build it into your data
management plan)

32. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have the job: Lead by example
• Archive your work!
• Share publications/presentations
• Write open access charges into your grant proposals
• Establish an “open mentality” with your collaborators when you
start the grant writing process (you can build it into your data
management plan)
• Don’t forget about your students!

33. Using Open As an Asset: The Job
• Using open once you have the job: Lead by example
• Archive your work!
• Share publications/presentations
• Write open access charges into your grant proposals
• Establish an “open mentality” with your collaborators when you
start the grant writing process (you can build it into your data
management plan)
• Don’t forget about your students!
• Change the way we think about tenure and hiring

34. In Conclusion
• Be Bold. Don’t be afraid to promote yourself in non-traditional ways
• If nothing else, they’ll remember you!
• Remember… a lot of people still don’t know what open access really
means…
Meredith_Niles@hks.Harvard.edu
mtniles@uvm.edu
@MeredithNiles1