LA Referencia and UNESCO

Map of national Open Science initiatives

Public policies and initiatives in Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain aligned with the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.

A joint effort by LA Referencia and UNESCO to document and increase the visibility of public policies aligned with the Recommendation on Open Science in the region.

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What is this survey?

This project identifies and organizes permanent national public initiatives that contribute to implementing the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science. The information collected will serve as a reference on the LA Referencia website, with mechanisms for periodic updates.

The aim is to assess and highlight the efforts of governments in Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain towards Open Science objectives.

Survey dimensions

Initiatives are classified according to UNESCO’s definition of Open Science and the policy objectives set out in its Recommendation.

UNESCO policy objectives

  • Promote a common understanding of Open Science and its benefits.
  • Develop an enabling policy environment for Open Science.
  • Invest in Open Science infrastructure and services.
  • Invest in human resources, training and digital literacy.
  • Foster a culture of Open Science and align incentives.
  • Promote innovative approaches to the scientific process.
  • Promote international cooperation and reduce digital and technological divides.

Open scientific knowledge

  • Scientific output.
  • Open research data.
  • Open educational resources.
  • Open source software and source code.
  • Open hardware.

Open engagement of societal actors

  • Citizen science.
  • Crowdfunding.
  • Crowdsourcing.
  • Scientific volunteering.

Open dialogue with other knowledge systems

  • Indigenous peoples.
  • Marginalized researchers.
  • Local communities.

Open Science infrastructure

  • Virtual infrastructure.
  • Physical infrastructure.

Regulatory frameworks

  • National.
  • Institutional.

Additional dimensions

  • Open research assessment.
  • Open innovation.
  • Open and reproducible research.

What is the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science?

Adopted in 2021 by UNESCO Member States, the Recommendation on Open Science is the first international framework defining the principles and actions needed to promote more accessible, inclusive and collaborative science. It promotes the availability of open scientific data and results, the development of suitable infrastructure and regulatory frameworks, and global cooperation to reduce technological and knowledge divides.

Through this initiative, UNESCO encourages countries to adopt policies and practices that facilitate equitable access to scientific output, benefiting both the research community and society as a whole.

Survey methodology

Information was collected and organized with support from a team of scholarship students at CONARE Costa Rica and drew on three main sources:

  • Information provided by LA Referencia’s member nodes.
  • The document “Políticas de Acceso Abierto en América Latina, el Caribe y la Unión Europea: Avances para un diálogo político” (Open Access Policies in Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union: Progress towards a Policy Dialogue), by Pilar Rico and Laura Bonora.
  • An analysis of official government websites to identify ongoing policies and programs.

We welcome the collaboration of national institutions to validate the information collected and fill in missing data.

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Updating and sustaining the survey

This survey was conducted in 2024 and will be updated periodically. It aims to cover all policies, although some may not yet be included. We therefore invite institutions to report new initiatives or changes to existing ones to keep the information current.

Acknowledgments

This work was made possible by the collaboration of UNA Costa Rica through CONARE, whose team of scholarship students supported the organization of information and the development of the software used to consult and update the survey.

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