The Power of Open Science Communities

This presentation, entitled "The Power of Open Science Communities" was prepared for and presented virtually at the 4th Annual Forum for Open Research in the MENA region (Middle-East and North-Africa), that took place from the 20th-23rd of October 2025 at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The presentation gives an overview about the importance of Open Science Communities in the transition towards Open Science, emphasizing the importance of community building. The presentation starts with a short introduction of the International Network of Open Science & Scholarship Communities (INOSC), and how this network connects Open Science Communities (OSCs) worldwide. After this introduction, the transition towards Open Science is explained with a visualisation of the ´strategy for culture change´ (Brian Nosek, 2019) combined with the the Innovation Adaption Lifecycle or so-called Roger´s Bell Curve (2003) (Brian Nosek, 2022). The presentation finishes with practical tools and ideas how to promote your own Open Science Community and how to influence policies with your Open Science Community. AbstractThe norms and practices in academia are shifting towards Open Science. This shift is an ongoing process and involves universities, research funders, public administration and publishers, across the globe. There is no doubt that Open Science is the way forward. The question is, how? The transition towards making Open Science the norm can be conceptualised via five interventions: infrastructure, user experience, communities, incentives and policy. Communities are a part of making Open Science normative and something that not only concerns a small number of early adopters but a majority of researchers. We believe that the research community itself is best suited to lead change – those who put Open Science to practice. That is why local bottom-up Open Science Communities are crucial in this transition. These OSCs are places where academia and society meet, interact, and co-create. Besides that, OSCs can interact with institutional stakeholders on policy, infrastructure and support. Practical ideas about how to start-up your own community will be addressed as well. During this presentation, Mirjam Walpot guides us through the world of Open Science and Open Science Communities. What are Open Science Communities? Why are they so important? And what can we do to make these communities a success? Read the presentation slides and get inspired!