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On behalf of the VSNU and the Dutch Taskforce on Responsible Management of Research Information and Data (click here for more information on the taskforce), Dialogic has explored the feasibility of an Open Knowledge Base (OKB).
The metadata concerning scientific results such as publications, datasets, software, educational materials, and public communication contains crucial information about science funded by the government. This information should be freely available without any restrictions. Consequently, the metadata should be easily discoverable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, enabling other users or service providers to create compelling usage opportunities uninhibitedly.
Our research reveals two core values for an OKB. Firstly, safeguarding academic independence by opening up the metadata and indicators underlying scientific assessment, reducing reliance on private enterprises for data and software provision. Secondly, enhancing and expanding the quality and coverage of available metadata within the Dutch landscape of scientific communication infrastructures.
Our feasibility study demonstrates that an OKB is both feasible and desirable. An important opportunity we identify for an OKB is establishing a feedback loop between institutional databases (CRIS systems) and the OKB. This way, metadata coverage and quality in an OKB can be improved by integrating, harmonising, and enriching metadata from multiple sources, including participating CRIS systems, open infrastructures (e.g. CrossRef, Orcid, ROD), and research intelligence services. These enhancements and enrichments can feed back into institutional CRIS systems, thereby improving metadata and reporting at the local institutional level.
The report has been published by the VSNU and can be accessed here.
