About the Committee for Open Science

The Committee for Open Science works as a result of the political policy and the National Plan for Open Science presented by Frederique VIDAL, the Higher Education, Research and Innovation Minister on July 4th 2018 during her speech to the annual conference of the League of European Research Libraries (LIBER). This plan proposes three main axes: to generalize open access to publications; to structure research data and make it open; to fully participate in a sustainable European and international dynamic.

A second plan was adopted in July 2021 which states that “France is continuing its ambitious trajectory initiated by the Digital Republic Act of 2016 and confirmed by the Research Programming Law of 2020, which includes open science as one of the missions of researchers and academics”. It reiterates and reinforces the commitments made in the first plan, places software and source codes on the same level as research publications and data, and aims to ensure that open science practices are effectively taken into account particularly in individual and collective research evaluation practices.

The plan is structured around four main paths:

  1. generalising open access to publications
  2. structuring, sharing and opening up research data
  3. opening up and promoting source code produced by research
  4. transforming practices to make open science the default principle

 

The site ouvrirlascience.fr run by the Committee for Open Science accompanies and supports French national measures. It is aimed at all actors who play a role in open science and all interested citizens. Its objectives are:

  • to increase knowledge about open science;
  • to explain the challenges to be overcome to implement open science;
  • to increase awareness of the scientific, societal and financial issues at stake.

The site provides news, resources – founding texts, reports, studies  – and a schedule of upcoming events, all related to the four components of the plan and covering all scientific disciplines. Also, more specifically it features:

  • the work produced by the CoSo’s permanent colleges, expert groups and the Committee’s various projects;
  • an ‘initiation’ page for Internet users who want to find out more about Open Science;
  • an ‘Open Science Stories’ page which highlights researchers implementing Open Science practices.

You can also consult our Open Science newsletters (only available in French) and sign up to receive them.