A presentation given by Eva Méndez at the 5th LEARN workshop in Barcelona (26 Jan 2017). www.learn-rdm.eu

1. Prof. Dr. Eva Méndez
Opening research data in EU universities:
Policies, motivators and challenges
emendez@bib.uc3m.es
@evamen
Barcelona 26 January 2017

2. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
Outline & objectives
 Policies and motivators
 Convincing EU policies in Open Science
(Open Research Data)
 Challenges!!! (RDM/RDS)
 Research Data in the challenging Open Science
Framework
 Research Data in the challenging Open Data
Framework (PSI)
 Research Data in the challenging Data Science
Framework
 Challenges for Universities and other RPOs:
Ideas and reflections

3. The way we do Science is changing because…
• Exponential growth of data.
• Availability of digital technologies.
• Increase of the global scientific
population.
• Public demand for better and more
efficient science.
• Demand for accountable,
responsive and transparent
science (PSI).
• Need to address faster societal
challenges, and to contribute to
economic growth.
The context…

4. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
Open Science: Here we are!
 A systemic change in the
modus operandi of science
and research
 Affecting the whole
research cycle and its
stakeholders
Commissioner Carlos Moedas
Open Science Presidency Conference

5. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges

6. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
Research data: open by default
 Horizon 2020 grantees are required to:
 Deposit underlying research data (and their metadata)
 Take measures to grant open access to this research data
 Horizon 2020 grantees are encouraged to share datasets
beyond publication
 FAIR data
+ more Rs
Reliable
Reproducible

8. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
(Open) Research Data “mantra”
Why?
How?
Who?

9. • How does it affect our
researchers?  Promotion,
research assessment,
almetrics…
• How does it affect our
research infrastructures?
New ones?
• How does it affect our
T&Learning?  Data
literacies?
• New scientific behavior 
Transparency
FAIR DATA: Why?
Should I
share my
data?

10. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
FAIR data: Why?
Cartoon by Auke Herrema
Magazine
“…Open access to scientific
results and data is a great way
to boost science, boost the
economy, and enable new
techniques and collaborations
between disciplines.
Really it's quite simple: it's about
ensuring you can see the results
you've already paid for
through your taxes….”
(Nelie Kroes)

11. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
Barriers to share
research data
9%
9%
12%
12%
17%
17%
18%
26%
30%
Insufficient skills
Should not be available
no place to put data
Lack of standards
Do not need data
Lack of funding
I don’t have rights
Insufficient time
I need to publish
Tenopir, et al (2015).
Changes in Data Sharing and Data Reuse Practices and Perceptions among Scientists
Worldwide http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134826
FAIR data: Why?

12. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
Barriers to share
research data
1. Users do not understand the data
(semantic, formats, etc.)
2. Lack of software, hardware or
sustainable support
3. No clear data authenticity
4. Restrictions of access and use (IP issues)
5. Lack of skills to find the data
6. Current curation in a project could stop
in the future
7. Loss of confidence in the staff in charge
of the data curation
Ferrer-Sapena, Aleixandre-Benavent (2016).
La opinión y los hábitos de los investigadores sobre los datos de investigación:
http://bd.ub.edu/grups/ccd/seminari_maredata
FAIR data: Why?

13. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
FAIR data: How? (policies)
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/grants_manual/hi/oa_pilot/h2020-hi-oa-data-mgt_en.pdf

14. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
FAIR data: how? (infratructure)

15. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
Lead users… Scientific communities …long tail
Scaleofscientificactivity(data-drivenscience)
Humanities Citizen science
European
Open Science Cloud
Lifesciences
Physics
Earthsciences
Economics
Social
sciences
Applied-engineering
……
Scientific Landscape for
Research Data…
One size does not feet all!!!
FAIR data: How?

17. EOSC
Image from the children’s story by Maurice Sendak
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Wild_Things_Are

18. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
A Cloud on the H2020 Horizon (final draft)
http://www.bluebridge-vres.eu/sites/default/files/HLEG%20EOSC%20first%20Report%20%28draft%29.pdf
Imagine a federated, globally
accessible environment where
researchers, innovators, companies
and citizens can publish, find and re-
use each other's data and tools for
research, innovation and educational
purposes ...
This we believe encapsulates the
concept of the European Open
Science Cloud (EOSC), and indeed
such a federated European
endeavor might be expressed as the
European contribution to a Internet
of FAIR Data and services.
“The European Open Science Cloud is a supporting environment for
Open science and not an ‘open cloud’ for science”

19. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
From: B. Mons (2016)

20. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
“Motivators of Will”
Challenge: how to incentivize the systemic
change in our universities
SEDUCTION!!

21. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
On the way to Open Research Data Policy:
Ideas and strategies
 Embrance international/EU policies
 Infrastructures: (COOPERATE)
 Include Open Research Data in the
institutional policy (MANDATE-LAW)
 Reward with economic incentives
(internal rewarding system) (MONEY)
 Datathons, Prices (RANKING)
 Work in the mindset change: early
career researchers  deposit the
underlying datasets of the thesis,
master papers, etc.
 “The best is enemy of the good”

22. Eva Méndez Opening research data in EU universities: Policies, motivators and challenges
And you? What are you going to do?
Introduction video Conference Open Science 4- 5 April 2016, Dutch
Presidency EU2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9a3Ap3yyak

23. http://databib.org
Thank you!!
Prof. Dr. Eva Méndez emendez@bib.uc3m.es
@evamen