Open Science Action Plan

Science at Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Canada's Roadmap for Open Science

In 2020, the Chief Science Advisor published Canada's Roadmap for Open Science to provide overarching principles and recommendations to guide Open Science activities in Canada.

What is open science?

The practice of making scientific inputs, outputs and processes freely available to all with minimal restrictions. Open science is enabled by people, technology and infrastructure. It is practiced in full respect of privacy, security, ethical considerations, and appropriate intellectual property protection.

Canada's Roadmap recommends that federal departments and agencies develop Action Plans for Open Science.

DFO's Open Science Action Plan includes four key areas:

• Fostering a culture of open science (Governance)
• Sharing our science data (Open Data)
• Publishing our science results (Open Publications)
• Communicating our science stories (Accessible Science).

Each of these four key areas is described below, along with desired outcomes and approaches to achieve them.

Fostering a Culture of Open Science (Governance)

A key principle of open science is "Open by Design and by Default" – meaning that scientific information is presumed to be open to the public unless there is a compelling reason for it not to be open or accessible (such as privacy, confidential business information, or national security), and that the science landscape promotes well-considered, systematic and safe release of information.

Adopting "Open by Design and Default" promotes and enables meaningful opportunities to incorporate open science into our work. Fostering this culture of open science will further accelerate data sharing, publishing of results, and communicating science.

The desired outcome is for DFO Science to have a culture of science that is Open by Design and Default, and for open science to be incorporated into all of DFO's science functions. We will achieve this by:

• Implementing governance that strengthens accountability and promotes awareness and understanding of open science
• Reviewing and updating policies and practices to enable open science and align incentives to support it
• Providing training and fostering innovative approaches to advance open science.

Sharing our Data (Open Data)

Open data is an important enabler in today's digital age, serving as a crucial tool for transparency and accountability in decision-making. It allows for the free use, reuse, and redistribution of datasets, fostering innovation and enabling informed, evidence-based decision-making.

DFO collects a wide range of scientific data that is critical to understanding and managing Canada's aquatic ecosystems. This includes data on fish stocks, aquatic species at risk, physical oceanographic conditions, bathymetry and the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.

The desired outcome is that DFO data are easily accessible to the public, researchers, policy makers and others, while respecting privacy, security and Indigenous data sovereignty. We will achieve this by:

• Participating in international and national open data initiatives to learn and share best practices
• Providing guidance and training to staff to ensure data adhere to the FAIR principles (which stipulate that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable)
• Investigating available tools and support for sharing data.

Publishing our Science Results (Open Publications)

Scientific results and conclusions are communicated through publications, including scientific journals and government publications. These publications should be openly accessible, while respecting privacy, security, ethical considerations, and appropriate intellectual property protection.

The open publication of science advice and supporting materials has been a long-standing practice at DFO, through the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS Publications). In addition, DFO maintains a secondary publication series, and scientists share their findings through third-party journals.

The desired outcome is that DFO's science publications are accessible while respecting privacy, security, ethical considerations, and appropriate intellectual property protection. We will achieve this by:

• Developing tools and guidelines to facilitate the publication of research findings and increasing the availability of departmental publications
• Encouraging and supporting publication in open-access journals.

Communicating our Science Stories and Engaging Canadians (Accessible Science)

Science is not completed until it is communicated. Communicating the results of our research is important to ensure that Canadians are well informed about issues that are key priorities and of public interest. Clear and transparent communications can help dispel misinformation and maintain public trust in science.

The desired outcome is that DFO's science stories are showcased using a range of platforms to engage Canadians and inspire the next generation of science professionals. We will achieve this by:

• Publishing plain language reports and web content
• Developing materials and organizing events to promote and raise awareness of our science and showcase how it serves Canadians
• Facilitating opportunities for scientists to highlight research outcomes and successes, and encourage knowledge transfer.

Progress in Advancing Open Science

By implementing the Action Plan, DFO is building a culture that continues to embrace open science.

In 2021, following staff engagement, DFO identified specific actions to support open science in the four key areas. Annex A presents the actions and progress achieved. While many of the actions have been completed, several are continuous (i.e. annual occurrences that are ongoing). Since 2021, DFO has undertaken additional initiatives to advance open science.

DFO is re-engaging its science staff to identify new and more ambitious actions in each of the four key areas of Governance, Open Data, Open Publications, and Accessible Science. The updated Open Science Action Plan will reaffirm the Department's commitment to open science.

ANNEX A

2021 Actions and Progress Achieved