Open Science and Open Innovation
Open Science represents a new approach to the scientific process based on cooperative work and new ways of diffusing knowledge by using digital technologies and new collaborative tools. The OECD defines Open Science as: “to make the primary outputs of publicly funded research results — publications and the research data — publicly accessible in digital format with no or minimal restriction” , but it is more than that. Open Science is about extending the principles of openness to the whole research cycle, fostering sharing and collaboration as early as possible thus entailing a systemic change to the way science and research is done.
Open Science is frequently defined as an umbrella term that involves various movements aiming to remove the barriers for sharing any kind of output, resources, methods or tools, at any stage of the research process. As such, open access to publications, open research data, open source software, open collaboration, open peer review, open notebooks, open educational resources, open monographs, citizen science, or research crowdfunding, fall into the boundaries of Open Science. Even though, especially for the library and information domain, the focus is usually placed on two of these movements: Open Research Data and Open Access to scientific publications .
Open Science Does Not Directly Result in Innovation.
While open science has advanced impressively in the past two decades, one cannot yet claim that it ha simultaneously led to a similar increase in innovation.
There are straightforward reasons why open science by itself may not translate into new innovations. Once a new discovery is made, it is often unclear or of less importance to the researcher(s) how best to apply it. Understanding the behavior of a new material, or a new physical property, may say little about the best uses of this knowledge.
There are other barriers as well. Funding is an important one. Basic scientific research is usually funded by public agencies, usually employing a peerreviewed process. This funding typically ends when a new discovery is made and then published. There is seldom any public funding for further development and application of the knowledge. The implicit assumption is that the private sector is better positioned to allocate resources to the application of this knowledge. Yet the private sector funding is looking for a financial return on its investment. This requires a careful evaluation of risk and reward in the application of any new knowledge. While new discoveries may offer exciting possibilities, they are reported at an early stage in their development, with actual data being provided at laboratory scale, as initial proof of a concept. Translating this initial proof into a new innovation at commercial scale involves substantial risks and large investments.
What is needed, then, in developing innovations from open science, are a set of corresponding institutions of Open Innovation. Unlike Open Science institutions, these Open Innovation institutions depend on the way and the context in which innovation is being pursued.
Open Innovation is the way that an organization opens its R&D office to outer individuals or, inside, to workers from different divisions. These Individuals are generally scientists and specialists in a field of innovation.
Open innovation is a concept that can help to connect the fruits of open science to more rapid translation and development of its discoveries. Like open science, open innovation assumes broad and effective engagement and participation in the innovation process.
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