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 patricia.bertin@embrapa.br
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

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.