Redesign open science for Asia, Africa and Latin America

Research is relatively new in many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Across these regions, young scientists are working to build practices for open science from the ground up. The aim is that scientific communities will incorporate these principles as they grow. But these communities’ needs differ from those that are part of mature research systems. So, rather than shifting and shaping established systems, scientists are endeavouring to design new ones.

Researchers in these regions face many challenges: lack of funding, inadequate access to literature and poor infrastructure. They are disadvantaged by government policies that increase apparent productivity at the expense of quality. The development of robust, open research in Indonesia and beyond could have global benefits. By my estimation, more than 80% of the world’s population live in areas where research is developing, suggesting massive untapped scientific potential. This diverse group of people would provide new ways of thinking about old problems. And global collaborations would increase each researcher’s access to resources and samples that might currently be off limits.