ERA AND SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING

NORBERT KROO

HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,

EURAB AND ERC

VIENNA,15.06.2007

GROWING SIGNIFICANCE OF KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE BASED SOCIETY (ECONOMY)

INNOVATION ORIENTED SOCIETY

RESOURCES (LABOUR, MATERIALS, ENERGY, CAPITAL,

KNOWLEDGE). SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE!

(danger to treat knowledge as a tradable commodity)

NEW PRACTICES INRESEARCH (multidisciplinary,groups)

NEW PRIORITIES (sustainable devel.,jobs, competitiveness)

DRYING OUT TECHNOLOGIES

NEW POTENTIAL REVOLUTIONS (BIO-, NANO-, INFO-TECHNOLOGIES )

INCREASING CRITICAL SIZE. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

SCIENCE IS CHANGINGSCIENCE IS CHANGING * THE * THE COMPLEXITYCOMPLEXITY OF KNOWLEDGE INCREASES OF KNOWLEDGE INCREASES DEEPER DEEPER

KNOWLEDGE IN NARROWER FIELDSKNOWLEDGE IN NARROWER FIELDS

* * INTERDISCIPLINARYINTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH EXPANDS. RESEARCH EXPANDS.

(COMPLEX PROBLEMS)(COMPLEX PROBLEMS)

* THE * THE COST COST OF RESEARCH (INFRASTRUCTURE) SKYROCKETS. OF RESEARCH (INFRASTRUCTURE) SKYROCKETS. GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT NEEDED.GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT NEEDED.

* INCREASING * INCREASING CRITICAL SIZECRITICAL SIZE. NETWORKING.. NETWORKING.

(BOTH FINANCIALLY AND IN HUMAN POTENTIAL)(BOTH FINANCIALLY AND IN HUMAN POTENTIAL)

* STRONGER INFLUENCE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE * STRONGER INFLUENCE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ECONOMYECONOMY

* NEW WAYS OF DOING SCIENCE: „KNOWLEDGE BORN IN CYBER-* NEW WAYS OF DOING SCIENCE: „KNOWLEDGE BORN IN CYBER-

SPACE” THROUGH THE INTERACTION OF DISLOCATED SCIENTISTSSPACE” THROUGH THE INTERACTION OF DISLOCATED SCIENTISTS

* DEVELOPMENT COSTS BEYOND THE POSSIBILITIES OF * DEVELOPMENT COSTS BEYOND THE POSSIBILITIES OF COMPANIESCOMPANIESREQUEST FOR STATE INTERVENTION, COMPANY REQUEST FOR STATE INTERVENTION, COMPANY

CONSORTIACONSORTIA

* SCIENCE HAS BECOME FULLY INTERNATIONAL. * SCIENCE HAS BECOME FULLY INTERNATIONAL. GLOBALIZATIONGLOBALIZATION

GREAT CHALLENGES AND

POSSIBILITIES OF THE 21TH CENTURY

(in the microworld)

SIMULTANEOULY 3 GREAT REVOLUTIONS: INFORMATICS,

BIOTECHNOLOGY, AND NANOTECHNOLOGY

BUT THEIR COMBINATION ALSO POSSIBLE (E.G. BIOINFORMATICS)

BIO

INFO

NANO

THE VISION OF EUROPEAN SCIENCE

CHANCE TO SHAPE, STRUCTURE AND BETTER FUND SCIENCE

IN EUROPE (on EU, national and regional levels)

-structures and institutions evolve rapidly,

-the newly founded ERC is of historical significance,

-the re-launching of the ERA concept is on the agenda,

-there is a chance to re-visit the EU budget for R&D and the

treaty,

-the renewed activity around the better use

of the Structural Funds for R&D.

HOW TO ADDRESS WEAKNESSES AND

EXPLORE STRENGTHS ?

RESEARCH POLICY OF THE EU:-TO SUPPORT EXCELLENT RESEARCH: FP7

AND OF COHESION POLICIES:-TO REDUCE GRADIENTS BETWEEN REGIONS: STRUCTURAL FUNDS

SYNERGY (COMPLEMENTARITY) OF THEM:-TO MOBILIZE THE R&D POTENTIAL ON ALL LEVELS

-TO IMPROVE RESEARCH CAPACITY

THE RE-VITALIZATION OF ERA-MOBILITY, INFRASTRUCTURE, INSTITUTIONS, COORDINATION,

INTERNATIONALIZATION, EXCELLENCE, COOPERATION IN

COMPETITION, BETTER USE OF THE RESEARCH CAPACITY OF

THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE UNION

ABOUT

EUROPEAN LEVEL COMPETITION:-ADDED VALUE: HIGHER QUALITY RESEARCH

COOPERATION, NETWORKING:-CRITICAL MASS (INTELLECTUAL AND FINANTIAL)

-LESS DUPLICATION, FRAGMENTATION

SUPPORT OF EXCELLENCE:-GOOD FOR ALL

BUT THE SAME APPLIES TO THE PROPER

USE OF STRUCTURAL FUNDS!

„SCIENCE IS TO SEE WHAT EVERYONE HAS SEEN BUT

THINK WHAT NO ONE HAS THOUGHT” ALBERT SZENT-GYÖRGYI

GALILEI

ERC

IDEAS!

(Frontier research)

THE GROWING SIGNIFICANCE OF IDEAS AND TALENTS (The Economist)

ERC ONE OF THE KEY INSTRUMENTS TO REALIZE

THE ERA CONCEPT (ONE OF THE FOUR SPECIFIC

PROGRAMMES OF FP7). THE NEED TO RE-THINK ERA

EXPECTED BENEFITS

- NEW KNOLEDGE, IDEAS, DISCOVERIES

- HIGHER QUALITY BY EUROPEAN LEVEL COMPETITION

- STRONGER EUROPEAN RESEARCH EFFORTS

- DECREASING FRAGMENTATION

- MINIMAL DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS AND RESOURCES

- THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION MAY HAVE A BETTER

VIEW OF RESEARCH IN EUROPE

MISSION OF THE SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL OF ERC

(more than money distributor):

DECIDE ON SCIENTIFIC STRATEGY

MONITOR AND CONTROL QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE

ESTABLISH A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY (INCL. TO THE

SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

MULTDISCIPLINARITY,

SUPPORT OF HIGH RISK RESEARCH

A. SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS

INSTITUTIONS, BEHAVIOUR, VALUES AND BELIEFS

THE HUMAN MIND AND ITS COMPLEXITY

CULTURES AND STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY

THE STUDY OF THE PAST AND OF CULTURAL ARTEFACTS

B. LIFE SCIENCES

MOLECULAR, CELLULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

GENETICS, GENOMICS, BIOINFORMATICS AND SYSTEM

BIOLOGY

NEUROSCIENCES

EVOLUTIONARY, POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL

BIOLOGY

APPLIED MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES

APPLIED BIOLOGY, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING

C. NATURAL SCIENCES

MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS

FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUENTS OF MATTER

STRUCTURES AND REACTIONS

MATERIAL SCIENCES AND METHODS

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

ENGINEERING SCIENCES

UNIVERSE SCIENCE

EART SYSTEM SCIENCE

ON RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE IT’S SIGNIFICANCE TO FACILITATE INNOVATION AND

COMPETITIVENESS

THE PUBLICATION LANDSCAPE AS A VITAL ELEMENT OF THIS

INFRASTRUCTURE

-the e-infrastructure itself,

-the integration of research articles with primary data,

-the role of publications in quality control,

-the publishing itself,

-copyrights, etc.

CHANGES IN THE PUBLICATION FIELD

EURAB (EURAB 06.049) AND ERC STATEMENTS

TIME IS GETTING RIPE FOR CHANGES!

SOME PARADOXICAL ISSUES IN R&D:

-COMPETITIVENESS PARADOX: often quoted in Europe

-TIME PARADOX: THE TIME NEEDED TO ACQUIRE

KNOWLEDGE INCREASES AND THE

OBSOLESCENCE TIME OF IT DECREASES

(fast reactions needed from all players, scientists,

decision makers, publishers, etc.)

NEW TECHNOLOGIES (internet, databases,...)

(strong impact on publication habits too)

PROGRESS IN ICT-s

NEW TECHNOLOGIES = NEW POSSIBILITIES

Silicon technology

Vacuum tube technology ENIAC

4G DRAM

INTERESTS OF SCIENTISTS (and society):FAST DISSEMINATION AND PROMPT ACCESS

MAXIMAL IMPACT (electronic: increasing share in publication)

QUALITY ASSURANCE:

- FOR EVALUATION (individuals and groups)

- FOR COMPETITIVE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS

FEEDBACK TO THE AUTHOR (good referee system)

AFFORDABILITY

- ACCEPTABLE PRIZE

(at present too expensive)

- SUPPORT OF THE FUNDERS

OPEN ACCESS: Making digital content available free of charge without

restrictions (a complete version of the work is deposited,

and this means published).

OA repositories and electronic journals are subject to the

same Peer Review process as the traditional journals

Peer Review carried out by the scientific community

The paradoxical cases:

(Nature, Science ??)

DIFFERENT FORMS OF DISSEMINATION (1):1. OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS

-copyright typically by the author,

-peer reviewed,

-non profit with some exceptions,

-author pays (<50%), page charge often waived,

-main income from advertisments,

-users have the right to read, copy, distribute, print, search,

link to the full text of the articles

(Budapest OA initiative, 2003)

2. PREPRINT

-articles prior to publication, before peer review

-limited quality significance,

-freely distributed.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF DISSEMINATION (2): 3. POST PRINT

-after peer reviewed but not copy edited

-deposited in OA repositories.

4. PUBLISHER VERSION

-revised version

-PDF

5. OPEN ACCESS ARCHIVE

-free access

-long term preservation

-without peer review

-may contain preprints and postprints too

A FEW REMARKS:

QUALITY, MEASURED ON THE BASIS OF THE REACTION

OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY (impact)

EXCELLENCE, AS THE ONLY SELECTION RULE IN

FUNDING (ERC) NEEDS THIS PARAMETER E.G. IN THE

EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS.( problems with the peer review

system in multidisciplinary fields). The ERC approach!

DECREASE OF PRESCRIPTIONS (partly due to the

prize factor)

PUBLISHERS ARE FOR SCIENTISTS AND NOT THE

OTHER WAY ROUND (publishers better organized;

increasing efforts by scientists) BALANCED SYSTEM?

A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS:SCIENTISTS SHOULD BE FREE WHERE TO PUBLISH

PROMPT AND BROAD ACCESS WITHIN THE EU

PROGRAMMES (repository for [peer reviewed] articles)

CO-ORDINATION BETWEEN EUROPEAN RESEARCH

FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS

OPEN ACCESS REPOSITORIES WITH GUIDELINES OF

WHAT AND HOW TO DEPOSIT

OA POLICY ONE ELEMENT IN RANKING A JOURNAL

STANDARDIZATION OF PRACTICES

PHASED IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY NEW PRACTICE

GATEKEEPERS!

EUROPEAN PRESENCE ON THE

GLOBAL PUBLICATION

„MARKET”

1

2 3

TO CONCLUDE EUROPE HAS TO SPEED UP IT’S EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN

THE KNOWLEDGE BASE TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE ON

GLOBAL SCALE,

THE CHANCE TO BE SUCCESSFUL IS THERE,

AN IMPROVED RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE IS ONE OF THE

PRECONDITIONS,

THE SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION SYSTEM IS AN IMPORTANT

ELEMENT OF THIS INFRASTRUCTURE,

THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM TO IMPROVE IT’S EFFICIENCY,

THIS CAN BE DONE IF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE

OPTIMALLY EXPLORED AND THE DIFFERENT PLAYERS

FIND A COMPROMISED COMMON PLATFORM.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES