This document aims to agree on a broad, international strategy for the implementation of open scholarship that meets the needs of different national and regional communities but works globally.
Scholarly research can be an inspirational process for advancing our collective knowledge to the benefit of all humankind. However, current research practices often struggle with a range of tensions and conflicts as it adapts to a largely digital system. What is broadly termed as 'Open Scholarship' is an attempt to realign modern research practices with this ideal. We do not propose a definition of 'Open Scholarship', but recognise that it is a holistic term that encompasses many disciplines, practices, and principles, sometimes also referred to as 'Open Science' or 'Open Research'. We choose the term 'Open Scholarship' to be more inclusive of these other terms.
The purpose of this document is to provide a concise analysis of where the global Open Scholarship movement currently stands: what the common threads and strengths are, where the greatest opportunities and challenges lie, and how we can more effectively work together as a global community to recognise the top strategic priorities. This document was inspired by the Foundations for OER Strategy Development and work in the FORCE11 Scholarly Commons Working Group, and developed by an open contribution working group.
Our hope is that this document will serve as a foundational resource for continuing discussions and initiatives about implementing effective strategies to help streamline the integration of Open Scholarship practices into a modern, digital research culture. Through this, we hope to extend the reach and impact of Open Scholarship into a global context, making sure that it is truly 'open for all'. We also hope that this document will evolve as the conversations around Open Scholarship progress, and help to provide useful insight for both global co-ordination and local action. We believe this is a step forward in making Open Scholarship the norm.
Ultimately, we expect the impact of widespread adoption of Open Scholarship to be diverse. We expect novel research practices to increase the pace of innovation, and therefore stimulate critical industries around the world. We could also expect to see an increase in public trust of science, as transparency becomes more normative. As such, we expect interest in Open Scholarship to increase at multiple levels, due to its inherent influence on society and global economics.