In the know: Chief Scientist plans free research access | 360info launched | national standard for sensors

In the know is a regular roundup of knowledge management (KM) topics of discussion and the articles, events, videos, and podcasts that are grabbing the attention of KM experts across our community.

Chief Scientist plans free research access for all

We recently republished an article¹ from The Conversation which reports on updated policy guidance on open access in the United States. The guidance requires all US federal agencies to put in place policies and plans so anyone anywhere can immediately and freely access the peer-reviewed publications and data arising from research the agencies fund.

InnovationAus reports² that Australia’s Chief Scientist is planning to go even further. Dr Cathy Foley will this year recommend to the Australian Government a radical departure from the way research is distributed in Australia, proposing a world-first model that shakes up the multi-billion-dollar publishing business so Australian readers don’t pay a cent.

The proposed open access model would give every Australian access to research without fee – not just researchers – with a new implementation body negotiating a deal with the publishers who have historically kept the work behind paywalls. The model goes much further than open access schemes in the US and Europe by including existing research libraries.

Founder of The Conversation launches new wire agency 360info

Now very well-known, The Conversation is a collaboration between academics and journalists that publishes research-based news and analysis. We regularly republish relevant articles from The Conversation here in RealKM Magazine. Andrew Jaspan, founder of The Conversation, has now taken this concept to news wire services³ with the launch this year of 360info.

The MediaNet blog reports⁴ that 360info is funded by Australia’s Monash University and consists of a small global team of journalists ‘curating’ feature articles built on academic research and expert voices. These articles are then shared with newsrooms on an online platform and via partner media organisations under a Creative Commons licence that allows all content to be repurposed or published free of charge.

The platform helps newsrooms by providing them with informed global content to share with their readers. At the same time, universities are given the opportunity to share important research often hidden or not readily accessible to the public.

Dutch cities to create national standard for explaining sensors

One of John Antill’s articles has looked at the proliferation of sensors in society and why we should care. Related to this, a previous edition of ‘In the know’ reported on calls for greater oversight of private sensors. Another ‘In the know’ then discussed the Digital Trust for Places and Routines (DTPR) standard and an associated trial. The DTPR standard aims to help improve transparency in regard to technology that is deployed in public spaces, including sensors.

A new article in Cities Today reports⁵ on another positive step in regard to better transparency in the use of sensors. The article discusses how several Dutch cities are collaborating on a standardised way to inform residents about the use of sensors and other smart city tools.

As the use of sensors in cities grows – to monitor crowds and traffic and manage waste, for example – the partners involved in the Dutch project say residents need to be clearly informed about these systems and have the opportunity to give feedback. This is particularly important as the technologies are often invisible and complex to understand.

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Also published on Medium.