What’s new

On the 11th of February the National Open Science Festival took place. It was an ambitious endeavor to go online while still trying to keep a Festival vibe going -something that would not have been possible without the help of a lot of people from all over the Netherlands.

We hope that the Festival tents will be set up again next year, hopefully not only in an online setting. But because this project has ended, the organisation will be taken over by others.

The Festival in short:

• More than 500 people registered, most of them from Dutch universities, UMCs and KNAW institutions, but also from HBOs. There were also international guests;
• 1.4k views total of the live stream and the plenary session and this number is still increasing;
• Between 425 and 600 unique visitors on the secure program page with links to all sessions (this is a rough estimate because we did not want to set hardcore cookies)
• Two pre-Festival workshops;
• 14 Community Led Sessions;
• Two Mingle and Meet sessions, on in ZOOM and one in Gather.town, which included 12 Market Place booths;
• Six sessions prior to the Festival:
o An Open Science Barcamp;
o The importance of data pre-processing;
o Your Gateway to Open Science Training;
o Two Deans sessions;
o The Open Science Use Case Awards;
• Lots of very positive and substantive tweets and reactions under the # OSF2021NL hashtag on twitter;
• Very positive survey results (thank you!). Particularly the diversity of sessions, the interaction, the Festival feeling/ the feeling of being able to meet others were mentioned. Next to that we got quite a lot of requests for another Festival next year; also to include more longer workshops.

More info about the winners of the Open Science Trophies can be found here.

A collection of CC BY #OSF2021NL related materials can be found on Zenodo.

You can watch the live stream video of the plenary conversations including the Open Initiatives Trophy on www.opensciencefestival.nl

ur Accelerate Open Science Project aims to give context to various developments in the area of Open Science, and to make information about topics such as FAIR data, Research assessment and FAIR Software easier accessible. As the fourth slide deck in our Info Slides Series, we present you A first Introduction to Open Science.

The slide deck is licensed under a CC-BY license, which enables you to make use of it any way you want and can be found on Zenodo,

On 29 October 35 people attended this session, presented by Sander Bosch (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) & Loek Brinkman (UMC Utrecht).

We discussed how the different universities can collaborate on providing Open Science skills and knowledge training to researchers. As a first step towards a national training programme (the Gateway to Open Science, or G2OS), we discussed in breakout groups 1) which topics should be addressed by such a programme, and 2) which existing courses, workshops and resources are already available at our universities and beyond. Our enthusiastic attendees came up with many more topics and resources than we dared dream of!

At the end of the session, we discussed the way forward for this initiative and this group.

Our first aim is to create a curated overview of OS training opportunities. To that end, we are condensing the inputs from the session into a list of courses and workshops. We would like to present this information in a filterable online format, so Open Science enthusiasts can easily find the available content. As a next step, we would like to develop the currently available course content into a modular national training programme, which can be mapped onto a competence framework.

In parallel, we aim to promote the embedding of Open Science into Bachelor and Master curricula.

We hope this session marks the start of an active community that fosters collaboration on Open Science training in the Netherlands!

On 26 November almost 40 people attend this session, presented by Maximilian Primbs (Radboud University) & Leonhard Volz (University of Amsterdam).

We explored how data pre-processing influences the outcome of a statistical test. After a short introduction, the focus lied on hands-on exploration of data via a custom-made easy to use Shiny App. All participants got a sense of the impact these pre-processing choices have on the effect of analyses while using the app to find the highest and lowest values. Two teams won a ‘Yoga Award for Uniquely Flexible Data Preprocessing’: a humorous way to put emphasis on how choices in pre-processing data effect the outcomes of your analysis. The experience were contextualised via the results of a related study and the implications for reporting methods,  and results were discussed in lively breakouts.

Our Accelerate Open Science Project aims to give context to various developments in the area of Open Science, and to make information about topics such as FAIR data easier accessible. As a second slide deck in our Info Slides Series, we present you Answers to five questions about FAIR data.

The slide deck is licensed under a CC-BY license, which enables you to make use of it any way you want. You can find the slides here.

If you have comments or suggestions, please feel free to drop us an e-mail.

In our Accelerate Open Science Project, one of our aims is to give context to various developments in the area of Open Science. One very important development in this respect is the discussion about changing the academic system of recognition and rewards to stimulate researchers to incorporate Open Science in their daily workflow. In the Netherlands, there are several developments to change existing research assessment protocols towards a more inclusive and generous approach that enables researchers to work more openly and transparent.

Three perspectives are leading in this discussion, namely the perspective from a researcher, the research and the research proposals. ACOS prepared a slide deck to give an overview of these developments and highlight recommendations to facilitate change. On a personal, team, faculty and institutional level.

The slide deck is licensed under a CC-BY license, which enables you to make use of it any way you want. You can find the slides here.

If you have comments or suggestions, please feel free to drop us an e-mail.

The current rise in COVID-19 infections in the Netherlands has led to the decision that the rescheduled National Open Science Festival will take place in an onlinesetting. The programme will include hybrid interactive panels,  lots of breakout sessions, an online marketplace and virtual social drinks.

OPEN SCIENCE FESTIVAL ONLINE: FEB 11, 13:00 – 17:30

The revised programme will be announced on October 15^th.

Registration will open on November 1^st.

Additionally, the following sessions will be organised  in our online series in the months leading up to the Festival:

October 29^th 15:00 – 16:30  + afterwards #OSmeetupNL drinks

Co-creation of G2OS: Your Gateway to Open Science Training

Presented by Loek Brinkman (UMCU Utrecht) & Sander Bosch (VU Amsterdam)

G2OS is a collaborative effort of multiple universities joining forces (VU, UU and TUDelft). In 2021, G2OS will be launched: a series of free online skills and knowledge sessions to help researchers get started with Open Science. The G2OS team is looking for contributors and input to further shape G2OS. In the interactive session on October 29th, the G2OS training will be introduced and participants can take part in shaping the program.

Registration is open here

 November 26^th  15:00 – 16:15 +afterwards #OSmeetupNL drinks

The importance of data pre-processing

Presented by Maximilian Primbs (Radboud University) & Leonhard Volz (University of Amsterdam)

This session will explore how data pre-processing influences the outcome of a statistical test. After a short introduction, the focus will lie on hands-on exploration of data via a custom-made easy to use Shiny App. Participants get a sense of the impact these pre-processing choices have on the effect of analyses and may even win a small prize for an outstanding analysis. The experience will be contextualised via the results of a related study and the implications for reporting methods and results will be discussed.

Registration is open here

January 14^th  2021 10:00 -16:00 + afterwards #OSmeetupNL drinks

Open Science Barcamp

In cooperation with the Open Science Communities: Anita Eerland (UU) Zsuzsika Sjoerds, Anna van ‘t Veer (Leiden University) c.s.

It will be the first Open Science Barcamp in the Netherlands. This event is based on the successful format of Open Science Barcamp Berlin.

What is a Barcamp?

A Barcamp is a one day event with no predetermined program – the topics of all sessions are determined on the spot. Our online venue (Gather.Town) consists of an interactive 2D environment with virtual avatars, one big plenary room, several smaller break-out rooms, and space to hang out and socially interact with others. During the plenary sessions, anyone can grab the mic and propose a topic for a break-out session. Next, you can join any of those break-out sessions and get to work!

A recap of earlier sessions can be found here.

Meet | Share | Inspire | Care

The National Open Science Festival provides researchers the opportunity to learn about the benefits of various Open Science practices. It is a place to meet peers that are already working openly or that are interested to start doing so. 

Key to this day is sharing knowledge and best practices. Lots of different sessions will be hosted by various peers from all over the Netherlands. You don’t need to have extensive knowledge of Open Science to attend; there will also be sessions for those who simply want to know more about the different aspects of Open Science, its drivers and its barriers.

This festival is organized in the context of the National Programme Open Science. Originally, the Festival was supposed to be hosted by Wageningen University and Research on August 27th, 2020. The Organisational Committee is led by this project team. 

On August 27^th we organized a first online meeting for Deans as one of the online sessions we organize in the months leading up to February 11^th, 2021, the postponed date for the National Open Science Festival.

The overall goal of the online session was to connect deans working in different university contexts and in different stages of creating open science working environments. To inspire each other to take the next steps in their specific academic context, and to discuss Open Science in a few informal conversations in breakout groups. The main theme of the breakout conversations was how the faculties address expectations regarding Open Science coming from universities, governments and society at large.

21 Deans attended this meeting that was moderated by Marco de Niet from Leiden University, together with Karel Luyben, the National Coordinator Open Science. Nora van der Wenden director of the department of Research and Science Policy at the ministry of Education, Culture and Science attended the meeting on behalf of the minister of OCW, Ingrid van Engelshoven.    

The discussions in the breakout groups ranged from the importance of the rewards and recognition system in the Open Science culture change, the link to overall ambitions, technological possibilities, ethical and legal challenges to societal challenges in times of COVID 19. The fact that there is no extra money available for the transition to open science, where transitions are always costly was also discussed, and so was the need for solid international infrastructures.

Overall the meeting was received as a successful step in converging efforts towards open science in the Netherlands. We are hoping to take this forward during a live Open Science Festival meeting or in another online meeting in 2021.

The first online session in the months leading up to the National Open Science Festival, on July 2^nd,   focused on the winners of the Open Science Use Case Awards.

The publication A Collection of Use Cases, which includes nine Use Cases, is available on Zenodo .

The Open Science Awards recognize researchers or research students who have used Open Science to make their research more accessible, transparent or reproducible. In the spirit of openness a call for Use Cases was published allowing all researchers and Phd students from Dutch universities, UMC’s and research institutes to submit their use case. The call was looking for use cases that explored challenges and difficulties as well as positive experiences and successful outcomes.

The programme committee awarded the following  inspiring use cases:

A webtool for interactive data visualization and data sharing

Joachim Goedhart, Przemek Krawczyk and Martijn S. Luijsterburg, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam; Amsterdam University Medical Centers; Leiden University Medical Center

Comments from the reviewing Programme Committee included: a “well explained use case” about “a small but interesting step towards the overall goal”.

Open science and open data for human factors research

Pavlo Bazilinskyy and Joost de Winter, Delft University of Technology

Comments from the reviewing Programme Committee included: “This is a great initiative that is open, transparent for researchers and the general public. A great approach for the greater involvement of citizen science, with the potential of finding links between technical and engineering research and humanities and social sciences.”

Open science practices in Majorana research

André Melo, Sebastian Rubbert and Anton Akhmerov, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience; Delft University of Technology

Comments from the reviewing Programme Committee included: “This research project was conducted in an open fashion which allowed other teams to reproduce their results during a ReproHack event. It shows a very compelling case of the importance and value of Open Science.”

Studies of Populations of Individual Birds (SPI-Birds) Network and Database

Antica Culina, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)

Comments from the reviewing Programme Committee included: “The fact that this project took off as well as it did shows that there was a great need for collaboration” and “The SPI-birds use case shows a project in which data sharing has helped accelerate scientific discovery. It also shows that some individuals/groups are still reluctant to fully share their data”

cBiT: The Compendium for Biomaterial Transcriptomics

Dennie Hebels and Jan de Boer, Maastricht University; Technical University Eindhoven

Comments from the reviewing Programme Committee included:

” A clear description of an Open Science use case: written from the OS angle. It is ‘only’ about PID’s and standards, but it is an inspirational story.”

And a special Encouragement Award is given to:

The Student Initiative for Open Science (SIOS)

Myrthe Veeman, Karoline Huth, Maike Dahrendorf and Lea Schumacher, University of Amsterdam

Comments from the reviewing Programme Committee included:

“This is not the specific type of use case we asked for, but a great example of what can be organised with limited resources” and “The enthusiastic group of 11 students has started an extensive website and organised a number of events for students. It is an important achievement that a larger group of future researchers becomes familiar with open science concepts, additionally to the curriculum of the university itself.”

The five use case winners, plus the special encouragement award winner will receive a prize of €250.

The current COVID-19 situation has led the organising committee to the decision that the National Open Science Festival will not take place on 27 August 2020 but on  February 11th, 2021 instead.

In order to keep in touch with all  interested in Open Science developments in the Netherlands, we will organise five online sessions in the months leading up to the Festival. 

In this first online session, which will be on July 2nd, we focus on the winners of the Open Science Use Case Awards.

You can find more information and the registration for this session here.