Information and Knowledge Sharing in the Agbiosciences

Worldwide: Open Traditions, Open Borders

Peter Ballantyne

USAIN ConferenceApril 2008

Traditions• “The field of knowledge is the common

property of all mankind” - Thomas Jefferson, 1807

• “Public science systems … are based on the principle of openness and the free exchange of ideas, information and knowledge” – OECD, 2007

• “An old tradition and a new technology have converged to make possible an unprecedented public good. The old tradition is the willingness of scientists and scholars to publish the fruits of their research … The new technology is the internet” – Budapest OA Initiative, 2002

Open Borders• Public domain AgBiosciences information and

knowledge that wants to travel and migrate needs open borders (or open ways to cross closed ones)

• Can we adopt– Open formats and licenses (‘passports’) that allow

and encourage content to travel– Open tools, standards and systems (visa's) that

facilitate exchange and accessibility of this content– Open mindsets and philosophies that value

collaboration, sharing and the knowledge of others

Opening the Borders?

• Making Goods Public

• Acting in Innovation Systems

• Using the Web 2.0

Public Goods• Research knowledge and technology outputs that are

applicable and readily accessible– IPCC work on climate change, research on biodiversity,

research into diseases….? [the benefits are for all of us]

• Reports, articles, data, databases, maps, books, policy recommendations …

• A research output is a PG when “others should be able to access and benefit from the research” – Jim Ryan for the CGIAR

• Our task is to provide the access, and enable benefits

How public are the goods?• Staff of a research institute:

– Produced 50 journal articles• 100% available online on internet• 22% open accessible online• 52% open accessible through AGORA

– Produced 31 books and chapters• 32% available online [mainly google books]

– Produced 30 conference papers• 60% open accessible online

– Produced 52 own reports• 83% open accessible online

• Is research a ‘public good’ when many outputs are unavailable and inaccessible?

• What level of ‘publicly’ accessible is desirable, acceptable, feasible?– Do accessibility and quality compete?

Making Goods Public?

• Goods are not ‘born’ public, we need to make them public: Available, Accessible, Applicable

• Available, in full, now and for the future

• Open, easy to access and exchange, in different ways, by different people …

• Relevant, and in forms that others can apply

• How do we, singly and together, make our goods ‘public’?

Innovation Systems• Before, a few people and organizations had, and

produced, and needed ‘the’ knowledge

• Now, we recognize that ALL the actors in a ‘system’ have some useful knowledge

• “To be properly knowledgeable, the centres and the peripheries need to be in conversations with the other” – Wendell Berry speaking at usain/iaald, 2005

An Innovation System

- Various actors

Acting in Innovation Systems?• “All actors in the R&D process – from

research design to those who will apply the outcomes in the field – should communicate with each other and should have equal access to knowledge” – CGIAR Science Council, 2006

• How do we enable the different ‘actors’ to connect with each other’s knowledge

Web 2.0• User-generated / user-personalized / user

re-mixed content

• ‘Published’ for others to easily re-use, and re-compose

• ‘Attitude of mind’ as well as toolset

The ‘social’ apps• blogs and vlogs, to publish our content in

words, videos or images;• wikis and social network tools, to jointly

develop ideas and exchange;• tags, to order our thoughts;• feeds spreading the word to other sites

and across the net;• mash-ups, bringing views of the web

together for ourselves and others

Removing Border Controls?• Facilitate open, inclusive, multi-directional

interactions among actors and knowledge in innovation systems

• Make goods and content ‘public’ with ‘triple A’ ratings of availability, accessibility, applicability

• Use Web 2.0 as the ‘open’ visa’s for content to travel far and wide

Work across Borders

Join international Communities