OPEN DATA: A NOT SO SIMPLE INITIATIVE

Open access is defined as “free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, [...] or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself” (Budapest Open Access Initiative, 2002)

Open Research Data makes research data freely available.

The move to open research data is linked to several movements:

  • Open Science, which includes Open access, Open Data, Open Peer Review and Citizen Science.
  • Open Data, promoted by public bodies committed to Open Government Data and private actors. 
  • Citizen movements, such as Knowledge Commons, Free Software Movement and Open Source, among others.

To open data successfully, a researcher needs to manage three types of skills: legal, administrative, and technical.

Useful skills

The Ouverture des données de recherche – Guide d’analyse du cadre juridique en France (v.2, December 2017, in French), developed by an inter-agency working group led by INRAE and supported by the Committee for Open Science is a good introduction to understanding the legal framework. Nevertheless, it is important to read your institution’s policies concerning the decision to open data.

This guide presents:

  • Texts that directly concern or have an impact on opening research data:
  • There are 3 main categories of data communicability:
    • Mandatory disclosure: spatial data and data on substance emissions into the environment
    • Disclosure prohibited on policy grounds: data presenting risks for the protection of national defence secrecy, data presenting risks for State security, public security, the security of the institution and professional secrets
    • Conditional disclosure: data posing risks to the protection of the nation's scientific and technical potential, and restricted areas, data protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, copyright, other intellectual property rights, data relating to persons and privacy, statistical data, data related to a contract with a third party not subject to an obligation
  • Technical aspects of dissemination and usable dissemination licences (please note that Creative Commons is not included)

This guide also provides a data communicability flowchart, which has been converted into an online visualisation tool.

It also provides a set of practical factsheets on various topics (databases, personal data, statistical data, etc.).

Legal issues related to open data are complex, so do not hesitate to contact your institution’s legal department.

“Particular care should be taken when a scientific publication is involved, and the publisher requires the data to be deposited in a specific repository. [...] decisions to open data are taken at an institutional level, and not by an agent.” (Ouverture des données de recherche – Guide d’analyse du cadre juridique en France)

The administrative requirements for research funding are constantly changing. The evolution of the requirements should be monitored regularly.

For European projects, the H2020 Pilot Framework Programme and its extension, as well as Plan S of cOAlition S, regulate the main obligations.

H2020, the Framework Programme for the European Union (2014-2020)

For H2020, open data is the default option but there are several exceptions to Opt-out, such as the risk of compromising the project, ethical reasons, personal data regulations, intellectual property rights, etc. You can access the complete list on page 8 of the H2020 Programme Guidelines to the Rules on Open Access to Scientific Publications and Open Access to Research Data in Horizon 2020.

Plan S and cOAlition S

A joint declaration published in September 2018 by cOAlition S, a consortium formed by the ERC and EU national funding agencies, such as ANR, aims towards “full Open Access in 2020”. It is a Plan S initiative.

In France

In France, the National Plan for Open Science was announced by Frédérique Vidal on 4 July 2018, making it compulsory for publications, and to a certain extent, data produced research funded by calls for proposals using public funds, to be available in open access. 

The ANR, in its 2019 Work Programme “requires the full texts of all publications resulting from the projects it funds to be posted in the open archives, and all proposals funded from 2019 onwards will need to have a data management plan (DMP)”.

Institutional policies

More and more institutions are developing Open Access and Open Data mandates. The ROARmap website, a global registry of policies in this field, provides information on the subject.

For obligations concerning European funding, contact your institution’s dedicated staff (for example): Pôle Ingénierie des projets de recherche internationaux at UVSQ,Cellule Europe de Paris-Sud, Direction déléguée aux Affaires Européennes pour le CEA etc.)

To publish open and linked data, two complementary approaches can be followed:

  • Applying FAIR principles is a basis for opening research data. FAIR data are not necessarily open, but FAIR principles allow for a good start to opening data, if the data is transmissible, according to the European Commission principle of ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’ is recommended’.
  • From the moment research data is opened on the Web, meeting Semantic Web standards ensures that it can be reused under the best conditions by all Internet users, whether they are researchers or members of civil society. A good way to start is to apply the5-star Open Data plan, the scale suggested by Tim Berners-Lee, leading to Linked Open Data.
  • Visit Cat OPIDoR for more training resources about metadata, data processing, data visualisation, data analysis, etc.
  • Resources provided by W3C about the Semantic Web
  • Website for the international network for research data expertise: Research Data Alliance (RDA) includes:
    • The Agrisemantics working group for the application of semantic web principles in the context of agriculture.