Vision & Mission of OSC-NL

The norms and practices in academia are shifting towards Open Science (OS). This shift is an ongoing process and involves universities, research funders, public administration and publishers. There is no doubt that OS is the way forward. However, different stakeholders have different views on what OS means. Hence, its practical implementation and the path towards a more open academic world is still unclear.

We believe that university staff are best suited to lead the path towards OS – those who put OS to practice. That is why local bottom-up Open Science Communities (OSCs) are crucial in this transition (see our white-paper). OSCs can articulate the opportunities and obstacles that researchers and other staff experience, while learning new skills and sharing knowledge.

In the Netherlands, there is an OSC in each university city. Together, as OSC-NL, they work towards three aims:

1 Foster local OSCs of OSC-NL through knowledge exchange and tailored support
To stimulate community engagement and outreach of local OSCs, OSC-NL facilitates knowledge exchange amongst OSCs, e.g., to share success stories and failures, good practices and materials. Also, OSC-NL stimulates and coordinates joint efforts (e.g., events, projects or working groups, mission and vision, codes of conduct, on-boarding tutorials) of Dutch OSCs.

2 Provide input to policy, infrastructure and services on a national level
OSC-NL vocalises the opportunities and needs of those who put OS to practice. By interacting with national stakeholders, OSC-NL provides input to policy, infrastructure and services. OSC-NL already has a good connection with several of these stakeholders, and is often invited to give feedback or take up active roles in national events. An example of the liaison role of OSC-NL is the valuable input that was gathered amongst local OSCs for the National Open Science 2030 Ambition Document. Additionally, a representative of OSC-NL was on the editorial board of the NPOS Rolling Agenda.

3 Contribute to a global culture change towards Open Science
Open Science is a global movement. Which is why OSC-NL has a leading role in the International Network of Open Science and Scholarship Communities (INOSC), which is the international counterpart of OSC-NL.