The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, popularly known as CERN and the world’s most established particle physics research institute, recently published the CERN Open Science Policy, which details the strategy to make publicly funded research readily available and accessible. As per the press release, the policy’s main objective is to “educate the next generation of scientists; and unite people from all over the world to push the frontiers of science and technology, for the benefit of all”.
This raises the question of how and when the Indian government can make any publicly funded research (paid for by the regular taxpayers) to the Indian society. Research scholars, academics and those generally interested in any subject must not be held down by the barriers of journal subscriptions to access quality research, especially if it is essentially paid for by them. CERN’s open science policy offers an in-depth insight into what it means to truly open up science and technology research to the general public.
Why Make It Open?
Apart from the fact that most research in the country remains taxpayer-funded research, there are several positive externalities in making science and technology research available to the public.
First, it enables the free dissemination of knowledge and makes quality research outputs accessible worldwide. This would encourage and foster international collaboration providing a global platform for Indian researchers and making their work recognisable beyond its own borders.
Second, in terms of making specific technologies themselves open, the ‘open’ aspect of the technology encourages and facilitates the sharing of credible datasets, which eventually helps improve the quality of future research by making it more data-driven and evidence-based. It also helps in sharing licensed software sources and hardware designs under open-source licences.
Third, there would be an immediate and high-level impact on the education sector when the Indian state decides to develop its own ‘open science’ policy. This would enable knowledge preservation to support reusability and reproducibility later. It would also support the development of training resources that can be made available to all, promoting socio-economic inclusion.
Hence, India must adopt its open science policy, which can improve the country’s accessibility and R&D conditions. India’s Open Science Policy should focus on,
Access And Open Data
Primarily, from an academic perspective, the open science policy should have the objective of making research publications open access. It would mean that all publications, whether published in an open-access journal or not, can be mandated by the government to be made publicly available.
A step towards this would be to create a common government-supported repository that can be accessed by any citizen of the country. This will contain all conference proceedings, journal articles and other publications behind paywalls.
The concept of ‘OpenData’ must also be integrated into the policy. The dearth of existing data and data sets has hampered the development of efficient technological systems in many sectors. The ‘OpenData’ concept will ensure the release of credible and tagged data that can be used. Refining data would not be needed in this case, and abundant access to data sets can be used to build machine learning algorithmic systems to improve the technology of existing applications.
Open Source Technology
In the Information Age, acquiring cutting-edge technology is not a goal in and of itself but rather a method of ensuring that all Indian residents live in peace and prosperity. Therefore, it is in India’s best interest to have unrestricted access to cutting-edge technology and fundamental information.
Risks and uncertainties in obtaining access to technology are also imposed by the escalating geopolitical struggle between nations. In the technological fields that are crucial to India’s long-term interests, open technology (both in terms of software and hardware) aids in achieving strategic autonomy. It guarantees the freedom to innovate free from restrictions imposed by government interference, technological oligopoly, and global geopolitics. Technology would become more open and accessible thanks to open technology, which is essential for India to meet its developmental difficulties.
Open technology’s transparency and inclusivity foster principles like liberty, justice, and equality while fostering trust. Resolving privacy and surveillance concerns with e-governance technology can also help close the trust gap between the government and the populace.
There are additional benefits that open source technology can provide, in addition to those related to national security and the overall economy. For instance, open standards and software allow users to avoid vendor lock-in, reduce costs, enhance interoperability, and provide more customisation.
Last month, the US government also mandated that all taxpayer-funded research be available domestically as soon as possible. As per the current timeline, this would be implemented entirely by 2025. That would change the scope and landscape of the research field.
It is about time that India has its own ‘Open Science Policy’, which can revolutionise how science and technology advancements can be disseminated to the general public. Whenever it is implemented, the policy must focus on the three main pillars: Open Access, Open Data and Open Source Technology.
Arjun Gargeyas is an IIC-UChicago Fellow and a Consultant at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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