FOSS4G 2022 general tracks

Over the past few years we have learned some valuable lessons as a scientific community; we are stronger together; we must uplift one another in order to achieve scientific progress; and the best solutions are found when we work collaboratively. These lessons will not spread unless we begin to address the hesitancy in transitioning towards sharing data and results and the lack of applied experience with tools which make open collaboration easier. Transform to Open Science (TOPS) is a new NASA Science Mission Directorate initiative designed to spark a cultural shift to collaborative, inclusive science.

NASA defines open science as a collaborative culture enabled by technology that empowers the open sharing of data, information, and knowledge within the scientific community and the wider public to accelerate scientific research and understanding. A system based on open science aims to make the scientific process as transparent (or open) as possible by making all elements of a claimed discovery readily accessible, which enables results to be repeated and validated.

Out of this open science concept, an evolving paradigm called open-source science is emerging. Open-source science accelerates discovery by conducting science openly from project initiation through implementation. The result is the inclusion of a wider, more diverse community in the scientific process as close to the start of research activities as possible. This increased level of commitment to conducting the full research process openly and without restriction enhances transparency and reproducibility, which engenders trust in the scientific process. It also represents a cultural shift that encourages collaboration and participation among practitioners of diverse backgrounds, including scientific discipline, gender, ethnicity, and expertise.

Within NASA’s Open-source Science Initiative, TOPS provides the visibility, advocacy, and community resources to support and enable the shift to open-source science; NASA is designating 2023 as the Year of Open Science, a global community initiative to spark change and inspire open science engagement through events and activities that will shift the current paradigm. TOPS seeks to enable science that is accessible, inclusive and reproducible via four activities: providing high-level visibility to open science activities at NASA and beyond; developing an open science curriculum through a collaborative, community-driven model that will be fully and openly available virtually and at conferences; incentivizing open science activities via mechanisms such as partnerships, badging programs, and awards; and instigating a transformation of NASA’s culture to better recognize and reward open science activities.

TOPS advocates for open science as it builds trust, advances understanding, and ultimately leads to new knowledge production and important new discoveries. To enable open science, the TOPS is developing resources and activities that will support and enable the scientific community to move forward. At FOSS4G we hope to share NASA's vision for open-source science, and invite this community to join us in the 2023 Year of Open Science as we challenge the old norms of scientific research and create a community which designs its scientific endeavors to be open from the start.