Open Science - Towards a high-quality and transparent research cycle

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Details

To ensure solid and demonstrable scientific quality, INBO works as much as possible according to the methods of open and reproducible research, in short: Open Science. Transparency and the open sharing of research results are self-evident for a public body such as INBO, but require ongoing commitment. As a framework for this, we use Open Science Goals (OSGs), which form a guideline for the research and the entire research cycle.

We remain committed to informing and inspiring INBO employees about Open Science, including through the continuation of the “Open Science Cafés”. These OS Cafés inform employees about projects where Open Science is being implemented, and workshops provide an opportunity to actively exchange experiences and work on Open Science. In addition, we call on all employees each year to explicitly set aside time in their schedules to learn more about, improve or perfect their Open Science skills.

We remain committed to providing high-quality support and training on the priority Open Science Goals. To keep our finger on the pulse, we actively monitor the themes that the research teams are working on and tailor our support and training to the most popular and urgent needs. In addition, there are also some fixed values in the training programme, such as a GitHub course and the monthly INBO Coding Club, where colleagues can deepen their R programming skills.

An important new priority objective within the Open Science programme is the commitment to “publicly accessible monitoring data”. In this context, we want to focus more systematically on open and FAIR data (FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable). Specifically, we are taking the following actions:

• We provide a clear and publicly accessible overview of all INBO monitoring data on the INBO website.
• We are developing the Flemish Biodiversity Portal. This portal will centralise all available species data for Flanders. We aim to optimise its use, tailored to the needs of all societal actors, in particular policy-makers and licensing authorities. We are also focusing on clear standards for data delivery and on data in a single format that can be used for different applications.
• We are studying the possibilities of making abiotic data more accessible, possibly via the aforementioned Flemish Biodiversity Portal.
• Internally, we are committed to making maximum use of existing data systems to facilitate the openness and “FAIRness” of INBO data.

In addition to the internal focus on Open Science, we are required to report annually on the evolution of Open Science within the institute.

This is done by the data steward(s). The data stewards are the point of contact for the Flemish Open Science Board (FOSB) and follow developments in Open Science at the Flemish level. Progress in the field of Open Science is monitored using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including the ORCID KPI, Open Access KPI and Open Data KPI.

Through our ongoing commitment to Open Science, we demonstrate our commitment to further growth in terms of quality, openness and transparency of research. We profile ourselves as an Open Science institute, gain high visibility in relevant data networks and continue to play a pioneering role in this field.

Teams

• Analytic Laboratory
• Genetic Diversity
• Open science lab for biodiversity
• Wildlife Management and Invasive Species
• Nature & Society
• Biometry, Methodology and Quality Assurance
• Biotope Diversity
• Forest Ecology and - Management
• Landscape Ecology and Nature Management
• Datamanagement
• Communication and Planning
• Library and Information Management
• Environment and Climate
• Aquatic Management
• Nature Report and Advice Coordination
• Freshwater Habitats
• Monitoring and Restoration of Aquatic Fauna
• Management Team
• Estuaries
• Monitoring Programme for the Natural Environment

INBO Research theme(s)

• Data & infrastructure