Govt urged to develop policy on open science
STAKEHOLDERS in the open science ecosystem in the country have called on the government to develop a national policy on open science and an action plan to help advance scientific research.
They said the proposed policy should have perspectives and interests of all stakeholders to provide the required direction to the various open science programmes and activities.
The concerns of the stakeholders, which border on inclusive, participatory and holistic approach, dominated discussions at the LIBSENSE Open Science Symposium in Accra.
LIBSENSE, a special research and education network-libraries initiative, led by the West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN), provided the platform to the stakeholders through its Accra iteration of the LIBSENSE National Open Science Roadmaps.
Common priority
Delivering the keynote address at the symposium, the United Kingdom Deputy High Commissioner to Ghana, Keith McMahon, said, “open science is a common priority of our countries. It should be a priority of every country. Global, irrevocable and free access to quality research and data enables more discoveries to be made and increases the scale and speed of the impact of science.
He opined that open science must be adopted in a way to ensure there are real and substantial benefits for development.
“The challenge is understanding the local landscape to identify the best opportunities for intervention where tailored solutions can work,” McMahon said.
National development agenda
The Special Advisor at the Ministry of Environment Science and Technology (MESTI), Oliver Boachie, said at the time when Ghana had decided to place Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) at the centre of the national development agenda, ministry was examining ways to strengthen the research and innovation ecosystem, and to provide the essential support programmes that unleash the creativity of Ghana’s researchers and innovators.
He said, “that is why MESTI is recommending the adoption of the Open Science approach to scientific research and knowledge dissemination for actors within our research and innovation ecosystem and their partners abroad”.