Power and Inequality in Open Science Discourses

Abstract

This article seeks to address issues of power and inequality in Open Science discourses, based on the research findings of the Open and Collaborative Science in Development Network (OCSDNet), an international research network that between 2014 and 2017 studied whether, and under what conditions, open science contributed to the effective application of research towards sustainable development. The network approached Open Science from a Global South perspective and collectively produced a set of values that ought to be at the foundation of a more inclusive and equitable practice of Open Science. However it also found that these values are currently missing in the most prominent Open Science policies. This article prompts the question: what assumptions are embedded in Open Science policies - whose interests are they serving and in turn whose interests are they neglecting? With this provocation it seeks to critically question Open Science policies by offering three alternative ways to think about Open Science from the perspective of Global South grassroots communities.