Contextualizing openness: situating Open Science

An important part of identifying the structural,technical, policy and cultural contexts for Open Sciencein the Global South is recognizing the plurality anddiversity in the framing and meanings of “openness.” This volume brings together contributions from thetwelve projects that form the Open and CollaborativeScience in Development Network (OCSDN), andis organized along four themes: Defining Open Sciencein Development, Governing Open Science, NegotiatingOpen Science, and Expanding Open Science for SocialTransformation. The collective goal of this volume is to identifyexamples and reflections that illustrate howopportunities and challenges posed by openness varyacross regions, and to identify key differences betweenactors, institutions, infrastructure and governanceof knowledgebased resources in diverse settings.The volume will contribute to and expand upon theliterature on “openness,” which has largely been writtenfrom the standpoint of the Global North. Challenging the asymmetry of global knowledgeproduction and access is central to understandingthe growing movement towards Open Scienceand what it may mean for development thinkingand practices. The intent is to further stimulate researchand debates on how best to collectively design aknowledge system that is open and equitable for all.