Deeper Reasons for Open Science: Higher Connectivity

Discussing the cycle of a conventional research process, I first want you to understand that the classical publication can be considered as a sort of coupling point between two such research cycles. From here, you should then be able to understand that opening up the research process over the whole cycle means allowing for more and more of these coupling points, thus giving others more chances to connect themselves to your process.

More coupling points will also lead to an increase of “interconnectedness” of scientific processes on the whole, or simply a “higher connectivity”, thereby bolstering a more collective approach to science. Explaining the idea behind the word “responsiveness” we will understand that science in the open science mode is expected to respond to problems that are of some meaning to others.

From this point, we will finally arrive at the Great Challenges and the Lund Declaration from 2009 which demands that science has to focus on the great challenges of our time.

TASK

Please read the Lund Declaration, which is available below, in full, and reflect on the fact that science – with all the freedom and independence it is usually so proud to have – is now being asked to focus on certain problems. Is that a new paradigm?