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"this issue of the Dramatic Growth of Open Access is dedicated to all of the many millions of people around the world who make open access happen - the scholars who take the time for the few keystrokes to deposit their work in an open access archive and/or publish in open access journals; the editors and peer reviewers of thousands of open access journals; the journals and publishers who make their works open access, whether immediately on publication or after a bit of a delay; and all of the librarians, repository managers, research funders and advocates around the world who constantly work for a future of open access to all of our scholarly knowledge - and apologies to anyone whose important work I may be omitting. "

The Government first set out its policy on the use of open source in 2004. This was restated in both 2009 and 2010. The Government ICT Strategy states that "Where appropriate, Government will procure open source solutions."  To support this, Action 3 of the Strategy says that "To create a level playing field for the use of innovative ICT solutions, the Government will publish a toolkit for procurers on best practice for evaluating the use of open source solutions." The following set of documents make up that toolkit: All About Open Source - including FAQs  ICT Advice Note - Procurement of Open Source  Procurement Policy Note on Open Source  OSS Options  CESG Guidance on Open Source - for Government users only Publically accessible summary of the security guidance Total Cost of Ownership  Total cost of ownership of open source software: a report for the UK Cabinet Office supported by OpenForum Europe PPN Open Source The purpose of this toolkit is to ensure that there is a level playing field for open source and proprietary software and that some of the myths associated with open source are dispelled. 

While I was thinking about this post, I have seen Tom Slee's one titled "Why the Open Data Movement is a Joke", which has raised some discussion and understandable outrage in the open government circles. Tom's argument starts from underlying an inherent conflict between the Canadian government's decision to join the Open Government Partnerships (see my earlier post) and some of its behaviors. Then he postulated that the Open Data Movement is more focused on formats, digitally-accessible data sets, free access to postal codes, and so on than it is focused on actual government transparency around issues that matter. It's a movement that has had no impact on government accountability

In many countries across the world, discussions, policies and developments are actively emerging around open access to government data. It is believed that opening up government data to citizens is critical for enforcing transparency and accountability within the government. Open data is also seen as holding the potential to bring about greater citizens' participation, empowering citizens to ask questions of their governments via not only the data that is made openly available but also through the interpretations that different stakeholders make of the open data. Besides advocacy for open data on grounds of democracy, it is also argued that opening government data can have significant economic potential, generating new industries and innovations.

Open311 is a form of technology that provides open channels of communication for issues that concern public space and public services. Primarily, Open311 refers to a standardized protocol for location-based collaborative issue-tracking. By offering free web API access to an existing 311 service, Open311 is an evolution of the phone-based 311 systems that many cities in North America offer.

The Open Data Institute (ODI) will be a global first: a collaboration between our leading businesses and entrepreneurs, universities and researchers, government and civil society to unlock enterprise and social value from the vast amount of Open Government Data now being made accessible. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has put Open Data at the heart of his agenda for government and in his Autumn Statement last November Chancellor George Osborne announced the intention to launch the ODI to stimulate innovation and enterprise. The ODI, an independent organisation led by Professors Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadbolt, will be formally opened in October.

Researchers can find and read papers online, rather than having to manually track down print copies.  Machines  (computers) can index the papers and extract the details (titles,  keywords etc.) in order to alert scientists to relevant material.  In addition, computers can extract factual data and meaning by "mining" the content, opening  up the possibility that machines could be used to make connections (and  even scientific discoveries) that might otherwise remain invisible to  researchers. However,  it is not generally possible today for computers to mine the content in papers due to constraints imposed by publishers.  While Open Access (OA) is improving the ability for researchers to read papers (by removing  access barriers), still only around 20% of scholarly papers are OA. The  remainder are locked  behind paywalls. As per the vast majority of subscription contracts, Subscribers may read paywalled papers, but they may not mine them. Content  mining is the way that modern technology locates digital information. Because digitized scientific information comes from hundreds of  thousands of different sources in today's globally connected scientific  community [2] and because current data sets can be measured in  terabytes,[1] it is often no longer possible to simply read a scholarly  summary in order to make scientifically significant use of such  information.[3]  A researcher must be able to copy information,  recombine it with other data and otherwise "re-use" it so as to produce  truly helpful results.  Not only is it a deductive tool to analyze  research data, it is how search engines operate to allow discovery of content. To prevent mining is therefore to force scientists into blind  alleys and silos where only limited knowledge is accessible.  Science  does not progress if it cannot incorporate the most recent findings and  move forward from there.

MONTREAL - The Quebec government has pledged to increase transparency and turn citizens into decision makers by using the latest online tools and embracing a new culture of openness. In Wednesday's release of a long-awaited report into how to bring open governance to Quebec - billed as "historic" by advocates of open governance - the government said that by next month, it will launch a web portal that will make public data easily accessible. Another website, to be created later, will gather public opinion on how the government is run.

" was particularly inspired by the lunchtime keynote - Dr John Moravec, who was kind enough to share his presentation with me… He introduced the idea of knowmads. They… Are not restricted to a specific age. Build their personal knowledge through explicit information gathering and tacit experiences, and leverage their personal knowledge to produce new ideas. Are able to apply their ideas and expertise contextually in various social and organizational configurations. Are highly motivated to collaborate, and are natural networkers, navigating new organizations, cultures, and societies. Purposively use new technologies to help them solve problems and transcend geographical limitations. Are open to sharing what they know, and invite the open access to information, knowledge and expertise from others. Develop habits of mind and practice to learn continuously, and can unlearn as quickly as they learn, adopting new ideas and practices as necessary. Thrive in non-hierarchical networks and organizations. Are not afraid of failure."

Earlier today, Harvard and MIT announced edX, an open-source technology platform designed to deliver online courses. Now, anyone from around the world with an Internet connection can have access to, what MIT President Susan Hockfield called, "one of the best kept secrets of Cambridge and the entire higher education community" - the "richness of collaborations" between Harvard and MIT.

The European Commission is preparing a review of the present Broadband Guidelines by September 2012. This early revision reflects the fact that at the time of passing the Guidelines there was only limited experience at the European Commission regarding State aid notifications dealing with NGA networks. Moreover the revision has to take into account a number of specific questions related to technology which came up with the decision making in the context of public funding of NGA networks. The core objective of the present study is to support the revision process by drawing lessons from the implementation of past decisions and by clarifying a given set of technological issues.  Against this background the purpose of the study is twofold.   According to the Terms of Reference the study should   * assess the functioning of the existing framework by assessing the implementation of a selected sample of projects in the broadband sector. Such projects should include both European and non-European ventures, when the latter can provide useful insights due to their possible more advanced stage of implementation. The assessment should focus on an analysis of the potential difficulties experienced with the implementation of the conditions set out in the European Commission authorisation decision as well as on potential implications for the review of the Broadband Guidelines.  * give advice to the European Commission services regarding a limited number of technical issues which are relevant for the implementation of the Broadband Guidelines. The main issues to be addressed are:   (a) Technological solutions for NGA networks;   (b) Granting wholesale access to competitors on the subsidized networks  and different "open access" products;   (c) Separation.   The two objectives of the study are intertwined, and at the end lead to consistent recommendations for the upcoming revision of the Broadband Guidelines.

Des start-up proposent de maîtriser les dépenses de santé ou de comparer l'action gouvernementale. Il y a un an et demi, la France adoptait une politique volontaire en matière de libération de données publiques (open data). La mission Etalab, formée en février 2011, s'est chargée de centraliser et de rendre accessible les informations publiques de différentes administrations d'État - inventaire du patrimoine immobilier de l'État, dépenses de la Sécurité sociale, listes de gares ferroviaires… - sur le portail Internet data.gouv.fr.

Importance des contenus ouverts dans le domaine de l'information scientifique et de la recherche. La recherche est à la croisée des chemins: plusieurs enjeux contrai contraignent ngnent lle domaine à changer ses façons de faire. D'abord,  les données et connaissances scientifiques se multiplient en même temps que les coûts liés du modèles traditionnels de diffusion par les publications spécialisées explosent.  De plus, la pression financière croissante sur les institutions d'enseignements exigent de nouveaux modèles d'accès à la connaissances. L'importance croissante de la collaboration internationale pour faire avancer des champs de recherche de plus en plus spécialisés et  la présence grandissante des contenus libres, tels que wikipédia, font que la nécessité d'avoir des contenus scientifiques accessibles librement s'avère de plus en plus urgente.

Le libre accès aux résultats de recherche stimulera la capacité d'innovation en Europe. La Commission européenne a présenté le 17 juillet 2012 des mesures visant à rendre plus accessibles les informations scientifiques produites en Europe. Les publications et les données scientifiques issues de la recherche financée par des fonds publics seront accessibles plus rapidement à un plus large public, ce qui permettra aux chercheurs et aux entreprises de les exploiter plus facilement. Grâce à ce coup de fouet pour la capacité d'innovation en Europe, les découvertes scientifiques se traduiront plus rapidement en avantages pour la population. L'Europe obtiendra ainsi un meilleur retour sur son investissement de 87 milliards € par an dans la R&D. Ces mesures complètent la communication de la Commission sur la réalisation de l'Espace européen de la recherche (EER), adoptée également aujourd'hui.

"If you're interested in human development, the opportunity set has never been more interesting. Search in the browser marked the beginning of anywhere/anytime learning opportunities, but the official beginning of the new era was a decade ago with the Wikipedia launch. As noted in the Lessons from SkillShare blog, anywhere, anytime learning sites have been popping up at an increasing rate. You can learn about rate of change and differential calculus on Khan Academy. Academic Earth was an early source of college knowledge. Udemy let anyone teach anything. Saylor.org and P2PU.org made it all free. Anya Kamenetz outlined the expanded post-sec landscape in DIY U last year. This year, massively open online courses (MOOC) from Coursera, Udacity, and Edx are all the rage. The aggregate impact is a dramatic increase in access to great content and great teachers."

"The maker movement is gathering momentum. Slowly but surely people around the world are changing from passive consumer of the latest gizmo to active maker and modifier of existing designs. The promotion of an open source philosophy in the online era has given people access to myriad designs allowing them to make and modify almost anything. These days DIY not only applies to making simple home improvements, you can go online and learn how to build a robot if you feel up to the challenge! In America, MAKE magazine is the go-to publication for DIY and hack enthusiasts. Humans Invent spoke to MAKE's editor and overall hack guru, Mark Frauenfelder, to get an insight into how this movement is changing the nature of our consumerist culture."

"U.S. Cellular has added Wi-Fi to its mobile data toolbox. But rather than build or lease time on expensive managed hotspot networks, the Chicago carrier is working with Devicescape to tap into its virtual network of nearly 8 million open access points."

This week, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman launched NYOpenGovernment.com, a new website that his office touts as a means for "voters, the media and government watchdogs hold state government accountable" by providing the public online access to government data on campaign contributions, lobbying, and state contracts. "Secrecy breeds corruption, while transparency generates confidence," Attorney General Schneiderman said, in a prepared statement. "New York Open Government will help the public keep an eye on what their government is doing in order to deter corruption and increase confidence in the public sector. This site is a one-stop-shop for New Yorkers demanding up-to-date and comprehensive information about their government."

En plus de posséder un intérêt culturel certain et également en ce qui concerne l'avancée scientifique, l'Open Access permettrait notamment au secteur public d'économiser du temps et de l'argent.

urging governments to make data about canada and canadians free and accessible to citizens