Science Ouverte
29/06/2020 2 min

ANSES makes a commitment to open science

Open science “takes advantage of the digital transition to develop open access to publications and, to the fullest extent possible, to research data”. The results of scientific research become freely and immediately available, at no charge. Today, ANSES is making a commitment to open science in its role as a research-funding agency. As a member of an open science exchange network, the Agency signed a joint declaration with its partners on 29 June 2020. It also pursues a policy of open access through practical initiatives in its capacity as leader of the National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health (PNR EST).

Launched on 4 July 2018 by Frédérique Vidal, France’s Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the National Plan for Open Science requires all publications and data produced through project-funded research to be made freely accessible. Open science “takes advantage of the digital transition to develop open access to publications and, to the fullest extent possible, to research data”. It also seeks to increase the efficiency of research by making data easier to find, more accessible, interoperable and reusable, helping to make scientific research more transparent with faster and more universal access to results. At the same time, it plays an important role in building knowledge and trust among the public in relation to science.

Alongside its partners (the French National Research Agency, the National Cancer Institute, the National Research Agency on HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (Inserm/ANRS) and the Agency for Ecological Transition), ANSES signed a joint declaration in favour of open science on 29 June 2020. This newly formed exchange network underlines the ambitions set out by the Agency and its partners to develop a joint approach to promoting the dissemination and sharing of scientific knowledge.

As an agency that funds research projects, ANSES is implementing this policy and its principles in its capacity as leader of the National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health  (PNR EST). In 2019, research teams funded by the Agency were asked to deposit their publications in an open archive; as of 2020, researchers are now required to deposit their publications in an open archive and to develop a data management plan.