ISC Report on Opening the Record of Science

by | Feb 24, 2021 | News Archive

In 2020, in the frame of the ISC project on The Future of Scientific Publishing (https://council.science/actionplan/future-of-scientific-publishing/) the ISC invited all Members to provide feedback on the first draft of a discussion paper, which proposed a series of enduring principles for scientific publishing, analysed the extent to which these are satisfied by modern publishing systems, and made a series of recommendations for change. We are delighted to inform you that the draft discussion paper has now been revised and published as an ISC report ‘Opening the Record of Science: Making scholarly publishing work for science in the digital era’.

You can find a PDF of the report here: https://council.science/publications/sci-pub-report1/.

Please read the letter from the project Chair Geoffrey Boulton and ISC CEO Heide Hackmann, inviting your feedback on the report: https://council.science/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Invitation-to-read-and-provide-feedback-on-ISC-report-190221_13.pdf. The report is currently being prepared for publication in print, and the PDF at the link above will be replaced in the coming weeks (NB: the DOI will remain the same). If you would like to request a printed copy of the report, please fill in the online form at https://council.science/publications/sci-pub-report1/.

Please find below more updates and the latest opportunities from the International Science Council and the ISC community.

Contribution to the review process of the ECOSOC and HLPF submitted

The ISC and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) have submitted a written contribution to the review process of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on behalf of the Scientific and Technological Community Major Group (STC MG): https://council.science/current/news/science-ecosoc-hlpf-review/.

We highly encourage all ISC Members to use the text to engage with your national UN delegation, promote the recommendations, and to share the contribution with your network. Also consider retweeting: https://twitter.com/ScienceTechUN/status/1362035256375844866.

Speaking up for diversity in science: ISC launches podcast series

The ISC is partnering with Nature and its ‘Working Scientist’ podcast, highlighting all aspects of diversity in science – asking why diversity matters, why diversity makes for better science, how to integrate diverse voices and different perspectives in research, and how to promote inclusion of less well represented or marginalized groups in science settings. The series forms part of the outputs for the ISC’s project ‘Combating systemic racism and other forms of discrimination in science’.

Listen to the first two episodes here: https://council.science/podcast/nature-working-scientists/ and please feel free to promote the podcast among your network. There will be four more episodes in the coming weeks.


COVID-19 Scenarios Project

The ISC has launched a new COVID-19 project this week, outlining a range of scenarios over the mid- and long-term that aim to assist our understanding of the options for achieving an optimistic and fair end to the pandemic. The project, along with the article in The Lancet can be found here: https://council.science/covid-19-scenarios/.

Upcoming events within the ISC community

Recent opportunities within the ISC community

Please feel free to share these events and opportunities with your wider network.

If you have not yet had a chance to watch our recent episode of Global Science TV, tune in to “The lessons and unknowns after a year with COVID-19”: https://council.science/current/blog/global-science-tv-lessons-covid/.