European consultation on Science 2.0
The European Commission has opened a consultation on “Science 2.0″. A briefing document has been prepared describing what the European Commission means by Science 2.0, as well as introducing the issues. The consultation is open to all interested parties, and closes on 30 September 2014.
Digital technologies, many of them driven by physics research, have and are changing the way research is conducted and organised. The European Commission, through this consultation, is asking key stakeholders (universities, research funders, libraries, researchers, publishers, businesses) to provide their input.
As described in the Background Document: “The three main objectives of the consultation are: (1) to assess the degree of awareness amongst the stakeholders of the changing modus operandi; (2) to assess the perception of the opportunities and challenges and (3) to identify possible policy implications and actions to strengthen the competitiveness of the European science and research system by enabling it to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by Science 2.0.”
The results of the consultation may lead to a series of workshops for example. An important question for the European Commission is “whether it is too late or still too early for policy interventions: the consequence of a too late intervention is illustrated by the developments of Web 2.0 where Europe lost its initial leading position. Too early intervention could, however, lead to stifling creativity and entrepreneurship.”
For more information, the Consultation and the Background document are available on the European Commission website.
