Maastricht University elections: the university council, and LEAD

LEAD from "to lead", not from
lead, the chemical element.
Image: CC-BY 4.0.
Wellcome Images.

Third post in the series about the Open Science questions with respect to the upcoming Maastricht University elections gives the answers I received for the Leadership for Equitable Academic Democracy (LEAD) party, candidate for the University Council WP. With their permission to quote them, please find here their detailed answers to my questions.

What is your party's position on Open Science in general?

LEAD: The transition towards more Open Science is a fundamental part of contemporary Dutch academic landscape and something that the LEAD party stands in support of. Open sharing of data, code and protocols as well as physical samples is not only in the interest of society but also for the professional community. Besides this, the dissemination of scientific knowledge in an open manner to a diverse audience is something that can help interested parties – whether that be underfunded researchers, members of the public or professionals who do not work in scientific fields. Finally an inextricable connection between open science and the recognition and rewards initiative with members of our community given appropriate credit for the hard work they do in this area. 

How should Maastricht University promote openly licensed research output?

LEAD: Encouraging and nurturing an open science culture within UM is fruitless without outreach and accessibility for those who want and need the content. There is scope for promotion of the UM open science community at UM but also outside of the walls of the institution. Building a strong team of open science ambassadors to spread the word locally and internationally is also essential. There is tremendous scope for an improved conversation about open science on an individual basis and fits very well within the Impact and Leadership themes of Recognition and Rewards.

Should Maastricht University focus on Open Access, on Open Data, on Open Source, or all equally?

LEAD: Open Access is something which can be realized in almost all contexts, but each element of open science can have more or less value depending on the work which is being undertaken. We see an increasing use of open access publications thanks to broad policies within the UM and nationwide. However the UM should also safeguard that Open Source and especially Open Data does not just become a bureaucratic hurdle with large amounts of rules and forms, focus should be on usability and usefulness. For most impact, we would recommend some internal focus on helping researchers understand how to work towards open data and open source of their code repositories. There is likely many researchers who can be encouraged towards more open science practices when further information or guidance is provided to them.

How should Open Science at Maastricht University be funded?

LEAD: Funding of many contemporary issues (sustainability, open science and so on) for research groups is an emerging issue as we move towards modernizing research practices. As open access becomes a necessity in the Dutch research context part of the funding should be earmarked for open access and associated practices. For the purpose of curation and retention of data, training of researchers and hosting of code, in many institutes this becomes the responsibility of teams working within e.g. the Library. A balanced approach between central funding for initiatives which support all researchers but  individual research groups should be responsible for funding (part of) ensuring their output complies with open science principles.