Scientific Data Governance (BR0102)

Commitment 3: Establish scientific data governance mechanisms for the advance of open science in Brazil.
Lead government institution Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - EMBRAPA
Civil servant in charge for implementing at lead government institution Patrícia Rocha Bello Bertin
Position - Department Supervisor for Information Governance and Transparency Risks, Integrity and Transparency Administration

E-mail [email protected]
Telephone (61) 3448-1808
Other involved actors Government Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - EMBRAPA
Brazilian Institute for Information on Science and Technology – IBICT/MCTIC e IBICT/COEPE
Coordination for higher Education Staff Development - CAPES
National Council for Scientific and Technological Development - CNPq
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - Fiocruz
Civil Society Open Knowledge Foundation – OKBR
National Research Association and Post-graduation on Information Science /UnB
National Education Research Network - RNP

Status quo or problem/issue to be addressed Lack of an institutionalized open science culture
Main objective Improve governance instruments on Science for the advance of open Science.
Commitment short description The commitment intends to advance on processes related to the disclosure of open data about scientific research by improving governance instruments.
OGP Challenge addressed by the Commitment Expand the access to new technologies for disclosing and accountability purposes.
Commitment relevance Expand transparency over researches and data usages from its reuse.
Goal Allow a greater comprehension of the data universe produced by Brazilian research.
Situation Initiated in October 2018.
Results description Not available.
Implemented until July/2020

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfill the Commitment Start date: End date: Responsible:
1. Implementation of an interinstitutional network for Open Science
10/01/2018
03/31/2019 Embrapa*
IBICT
Fiocruz
2. Accomplishment of a national and international diagnose of Open Science
10/01/2018
03/31/2019 UnB*
Fiocruz
RNP
3. Establishment of principles and directives for institutional policies of support to Open Science.
11/01/2018
11/30/2019 IBICT*
Fiocruz
Embrapa
4. Promote actions for the awareness, participation and training over Open Science.
11/01/2018
07/31/2020 IBICT
CAPES
Fiocruz*
5. Articulation with funding agencies for the implementation of support actions over Open Science.
03/01/2019
03/31/2020 CNPq*
CAPES
Embrapa
6. Articulation with scientific editors for the implementation of support actions over Open Science
03/01/2019
03/31/2020 IBICT*
CAPES
UnB
7. Implementation of pilot federated infrastructure of research data repositories
01/01/2019

06/30/2020 RNP*
CNPq
IBICT
8. Proposition of interoperability patterns for research data repositories
11/01/2018
03/31/2020 IBICT*
Open Knowledge
RNP
9. Proposition of a group of indicators for measuring maturity on Open Science
09/01/2019
07/31/2020 Embrapa*
Open Knowledge
CNPq

Design Report

3. Innovation and Open Government in Science

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“Improve governance instruments on Science for the advance of open Science.”

3.1. Implementation of an interinstitutional network for Open Science

3.2. Accomplishment of a national and international diagnose of Open Science

3.3. Establishment of principles and directives for institutional policies of support to Open Science

3.4. Promote actions for the awareness, participation and training over Open Science

3.5. Articulation with funding agencies for the implementation of support actions over Open Science

3.6. Articulation with scientific editors for the implementation of support actions over Open Science

3.7. Implementation of pilot federated infrastructure of research data repositories

3.8. Proposition of interoperability patterns for research data repositories

3.9. Proposition of a group of indicators for measuring maturity on Open Science

Start Date: January 2018                                                                End Date: July 2020

Editorial note: to see the complete text, visit https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/brazil-national-action-plan-2018-2020/.

Context and Objectives

“Open science” is the practice of science in such a way that individuals can collaborate with and contribute to research data, lab notes, and other research processes. [19] The commitment aims to advance the use of open data and open data practices in scientific research. It seeks to improve governmental support for open science and clarify the available data produced by Brazilian research. The commitment is aligned with a starred commitment from the prior plan, Digital Education Resources, [20] and is of interest to several government and civil society actors. [21]

During the consultation phase, issues were raised by government and civil society that justify the commitment, including a lack of data standards and policies for open science data. [22] Stakeholders also noted the need to increase governance of open science datasets. [23] The IRM researcher interviewed stakeholders who argued that the commitment aims to advance institutional adoption of open science standards, [24] promote open source outcomes of scientific innovation, [25] and increase the transparency of government investments in research. [26]

The commitment proposes implementing an inter-institutional network for open science (Milestone 3.1), developing principles and institutional policies to support open science (3.2 and 3.3), raising awareness about open science (3.4), encouraging funders to support other open science practices in their scientific funding activities (3.5), and piloting a federal repository for research data (3.7). That repository would that allow for interoperability across datasets (3.8) and measure the maturity of open science (3.9).

The commitment is specific enough to be verifiable, but the scope and scale of its milestones are unclear. For example, Milestone 3.2—“accomplishment of a national and international diagnose of Open Science”—does not provide enough information to understand the result that it aims to achieve. For guidance and accountability purposes, the activities involved in this commitment could include more precise language and more information to determine their purpose and expected results.

In interpreting the language of the commitment, the IRM researcher considers that the commitment is relevant to access to information and civic participation, as highlighted by the use of open data and the collaborative practices by which the commitment institutionalizes open science practices, respectively.

The commitment has a moderate potential impact. Considering that it includes open science tasks related to policy design (e.g., Milestones 3.1−3.3)—and that it supports policy implementation (3.5−3.7), policy monitoring, and control (3.8 and 3.9)—the commitment could considerably increase the institutionalization of open science practices at institutional levels in Brazil. However, the lack of information to assess the commitment’s scope keeps it from reaching a higher potential impact.

Next steps

While the commitment is highly relevant, it need not be included in future plans if it is fully implemented. To increase its potential impact, the commitment can promote documentation practices and the transfer of knowledge to other areas of policy research. With that promotion, open science achievements and practices can be used as default practices to address other challenges faced by government and civil society.

Transitional Results Report

Commitment 3. Innovation and open government in science

Completion: COMPLETE

For details regarding the implementation and early results of this commitment, see Section 2.3.

Commitment 3: Innovation and open government in science

Aim of the commitment

This commitment is aimed at propelling the utilization of open data and fostering open data practices in scientific research. It is intended to bolster governmental support for open science, ensure the transparency of data produced by Brazilian researchers, advocate for the dissemination of open-source outcomes resulting from scientific innovation, and enhance the transparency of government’s research investment.

Despite a significant portion of scientific research in Brazil being funded by government institutions, scientific findings (including raw data sets and materials) remain largely inaccessible. Initiatives set out in this commitment can reduce the resistance of the scientific institutions towards the practices and values of the open science movement.

This commitment introduced the theme of Open Science to Brazil’s OGP process and garnered significant interest from various government and civil society stakeholders. In a context where open science practices and policies were still in their early stages, the commitment significantly sought to transform the scientific landscape by pursuing multiple outcomes that promote transparency and public accountability within the scientific production domain. Given its novelty and potential, the commitment was assessed as noteworthy in the IRM Design Report.

Did it open government?

Major

This commitment was completed with major results. Its outcomes brought about notable transformations in the realm of open science policies in Brazil. It enabled collaboration to foster a culture of transparency and accountability in scientific production by ensuring the public disclosure of scientific data.

The goals of the commitment were accomplished. It promoted open government and increased the transparency of research production and data usage (particularly in terms of data reuse). This can be verified by examining the most notable results of Milestones 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9.

Milestone 1 established an inter-institutional network for open science within the scope of the Research Data Alliance (RDA). [30] Milestone 3 created a guiding document that incorporated pertinent guidelines and principles for the formulation of institutional policies in support of open science. [31] This guiding document is intended to be used by other actors, so it is expected to yield tangible and effective results in the future.

The implementation of this commitment led to increased institutionalization of open science practices in Brazil. An example of this can be seen in one of the leading institutions in science and technology, Fiocruz, where each unit of the organization has established working groups dedicated to open science discussions. [32]

Milestone 4 aimed to disseminate information to generate awareness, participation, and capacity building on open science and its importance among the public and relevant stakeholders. A series of six videos titled “Commitment for Open Science” had recorded 4,688 views as of October 2021. [33] The videos were available on YouTube and institutional channels of participating organizations such as RNP, the Brazilian Institute for Information on Science and Technology (IBICT), and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The video series sensitizes citizens on the open science movement, management of open data, open science perspectives and experiences of different stakeholders, and technological interoperability. [34] An open science free online course was also created and made available. [35] Several key actions were carried out under Milestone 5, including (1) signing a cooperation agreement with CNPq for the development and implementation of the ‘Lattes Data’ research repository; [36] (2) engaging with funding agencies and global institutions (such as ‘DataCite'), and (3) acquiring digital object identifiers (DOIs) to be assigned to research datasets. [37] The National Consortium for Open Science (CoNCienciA) was subsequently established to obtain DOIs for research datasets. [38]

This outcome is directly relevant to Milestone 7, which is aimed at the implementation of a pilot federated infrastructure of research data repositories. Four organizations succeeded in doing so: Embrapa, Fiocruz, RNP, and the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). [39]

Under Milestone 6, two digital books [40] were published alongside two preprint repositories: Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) [41] and Emerging Research Information (EmeRI) [42] were implemented. These repositories played a crucial role in rapidly disseminating research findings related to the COVID-19 pandemic. [43]

Through Milestone 9, a set of indicators to assess the level of maturity of science and technology institutions in terms of research data openness was developed. The indicators were organized into categories such as governance, organizational culture, research data management, and technological infrastructure. [44] Some organizations that have already made use of the set of indicators included the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), the Federal University of Goiás (UFG), and the Center of Physical Research (CBPF).

A researcher at the Executive Directorate of Research and Innovation of Embrapa stated that the successful implementation of the commitment was due to the fact that its milestones were accomplished with a collaborative, bottom-up approach between scientists from various organizations. [45] The commitment was led by the scientists themselves, which ensured an agenda of activities that were less vulnerable to the political context. Similar observation was also noted by a representative of the Open Knowledge Brasil during the process of constructing and implementing the fourth action plan. [46]

Implementation activities also allowed for the diffusion of the concept of open science, leading governmental institutions to adopt open science practices. [47] The Embrapa representative noted that “OGP provided a collaborative environment for the discussion” that brought the topic of open science into the government agenda, particularly within the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI), who established a dedicated working group on the subject to meet regularly and address relevant matters. [48]

An Open Knowledge Brasil representative stated that the commitment has changed scientific culture, [49] especially in the assessment processes of open data maturity and the establishment of interoperability standards. Having monitored the implementation of action plans in Brazil since the first one, the Open Knowledge Brasil representative asserted that this is the most successful OGP commitment to date. [50] Together, this progress represents a positive change in the landscape of knowledge production in Brazil. Furthermore, the commitment helped bridge the gap between what is produced by science and what is being used and incorporated into practices. [51] As such, the commitment contributed to the ongoing process of planning and implementing more scientific solutions that address problems identified by the public.

Embrapa representatives mentioned some necessary future actions, including the certification of existing repositories, improving the evaluation mechanisms of open science with the support of the Agency for Support and Evaluation of Higher Education (CAPES) and CNPq, and enhancing the culture of data sharing, management, and quality improvement. The absence of a national monitoring system by federal organizations, such as the MCTI, is also underlined as a gap in the implementation of evaluation instruments and assessment of institutional maturity level with regard to open science practices.

Commitment 3 benefited from objectives that were more focused on implementing measurable and verifiable activities. This level of maturity distinguishes it from other commitments in the current and previous action plans. Going forward, the IRM recommends deepening the scope of existing activities, such as the establishment of permanent open scientific data repositories and funding policies that support open science actions, as well as implementing a national level monitoring mechanism of indicators for open research data maturity. Furthermore, greater transparency of scientific funding could encourage the federal government to establish and enable legal and political frameworks that promote accountability among public officials.