La science à portée de tous ! | Jean-Claude Marcourt

Google English: "Science within everyone's reach! Jean-Claude Marcourt is continuing to implement the "open access" decree in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Researchers' publications now available in open access.

On the proposal of Jean-Claude Marcourt, Vice-President of the Government and Minister of Higher Education and Research, the Government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation adopts, at last reading, the draft "Open Access" decree, a text founder to establish a policy of open access to scientific publications.

The draft decree clearly aims to integrate the Federation's research and higher education institutions into the "open science" movement, ie a set of practices based on the use of scientific research. Internet tools; digital archiving, unlocked copy on the web, etc. The "Open Access" decree and, ultimately, open access to research results that have received public funding, is the first pillar.

The text voted by the government on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 is the fruit of a constructive dialogue established with all stakeholders, be it the scientific and academic community or the Belgian publishers. Guidelines have been adopted to respond to the main concerns expressed by the latter, for example, the limitation of the scope of the decree to scientific articles appearing in periodicals and not to published works.

The Minister MARCOURT wishes to clarify: "The Federation adopts a founding text that places the institutions of research and higher education in the leading pack of global institutions active in" open science ". He added: "Wallonia and Brussels are thus joining forces with world-renowned actors such as Harvard University and Swiss universities such as Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva. By promoting the sharing of publicly funded research results, the Open Access Decree allows the free flow of knowledge, the promotion of science and innovation.

In concrete terms, the decree stipulates that researchers deposit their scientific publications resulting from their research carried out on public funds into an institutional digital archive and recommends that, when evaluating publications, take into consideration exclusively, the lists generated from these archives. institutional digital.

In conclusion, the Minister wishes to recall that the Open Access Decree enhances the visibility of researchers, their work and institutions of higher education. "The fruit of the research coming from the Wallonia Brussels Federation is becoming accessible all over the world and, more specifically, to researchers whose institutions have so far not been able to afford to buy these scientific publications. "The Minister rejoices. "It's a fundamental societal advance.""