That search took an unexpected turn in 2019 when Jenna came across a freely accessible research paper shared in a Facebook peer support group. The article suggested that some cases of LGMD might actually mimic an autoimmune disorder. Recognizing her own experience in the study, she sent it to her neurologist, Dr. Jodi Warman, who ordered a test. To their surprise, Jenna tested highly positive for the condition, leading to a new diagnosis and a treatment plan that offered her renewed hope.
This breakthrough was made possible thanks to open science, which removes barriers to knowledge, making research publicly accessible. Without it, Jenna may have never discovered the study that changed her life.
Without open access research, countless innovations across medicine, technology, environmental science, and social policy would remain trapped behind paywalls, slowing progress for researchers, policymakers, and the public alike. Students and educators would struggle to access the latest findings, small businesses and startups would face barriers to innovation, and communities tackling urgent challenges — like climate change or public health crises — would lack the critical knowledge needed to drive informed decisions. Open science accelerates discovery, fosters collaboration across disciplines, and ensures that knowledge serves society, rather than being limited to those who can afford it.
At uOttawa, the Open Science Working Group and its action committee are leading efforts to champion transparency, collaboration and innovation, ensuring research benefits all levels of society. In 2023–2024, the group developed a set of eight recommendations for embedding open science across the University, plus a roadmap for the future.
What is open science?
Open science lowers barriers and makes research discoveries more accessible to citizens, who fund research through their tax dollars. It also creates opportunities for researchers worldwide to collaborate and build on each other’s work more seamlessly. By making publicly-funded research available — including datasets that underpin research results — open science promotes transparency and reusability while ensuring data remains as open as possible and as closed as necessary.
“The push for a cultural and institutional shift towards openness is ultimately about fulfilling research’s fundamental purpose — to ensure knowledge reaches and benefits society,” said Martine Lagacé, associate vice-president, research, promotion and development, and working group co-chair.
The recommendations focus on fostering this culture of openness, valuing open science practices, investing in open infrastructure and aligning policies with open science principles. These efforts aim to drive immediate change while fostering a long-term shift in how uOttawa supports open science.
“Open science offers the promise of sharing knowledge efficiently, benefiting from digitalization to solve the world’s greatest challenges,” says Talia Chung, dean of libraries and working group co-chair. “Researchers are increasingly motivated to engage with open science and we must provide them with the right tools, resources and expertise. This includes advice about their copyright and supports in the use of open systems and infrastructure.”
What about copyright retention?
Copyright retention is crucial for advancing open science sustainably, allowing authors to choose how their work is published and shared. Many publishers require authors to transfer copyright, restricting how publicly funded research can be disseminated. This raises an ethical question: Why should these discoveries be kept out of reach of the very people they were meant to benefit?
According to the principles that uOttawa intends to apply, researchers retain control of their copyright. The University of Ottawa Library offers resources and guidance to help researchers negotiate with publishers, ensuring they retain the flexibility to share and reuse their work.
For more information, explore the library’s resources on copyright retention.
University of Ottawa Press: A leader in open access
As the first university press in Canada with a full open access program, The University of Ottawa Press (UOP) plays a leading role in making research widely accessible.
Since 2009, it has published over 100 open access eBooks, all freely available online in PDF format. Committed to sustainable open access publishing, UOP ensures that authors retain their rights while expanding the reach of academic knowledge.
By following a Creative Commons licensing model, UOP enables readers to freely read, share, and reference works for non-commercial purposes. This approach helps remove cost barriers, ensuring that new research reaches a broad audience.
Promoting open access to knowledge: the next steps
For the next stage, the working group suggests establishing faculty-specific actions, with support from vice-deans of research, to accommodate each discipline’s unique practices. Recognizing these discipline-specific approaches is key to ensuring sustainability, as the current open access publishing landscape favors certain fields while creating barriers for others.
The working group also highlights the importance of inclusive knowledge creation, emphasizing collaboration with Indigenous scholars. Integrating Indigenous knowledge systems into open science strengthens research by incorporating diverse perspectives and methodologies, ensuring a broader societal impact.
Finally, a key theme for the working group was uOttawa’s bilingual mandate, focusing on the francophonie and the intersection with open science. The report, aligned with Transformation 2030, recommends supporting and encouraging the creation and dissemination of francophone research output, using open science to enhance its visibility.
The next steps will be to set up an action committee that will determine the priority measures for open science at the University of Ottawa.
Through these efforts, uOttawa aims to lead the way in making knowledge open, inclusive, and impactful for all.