Blog

In this post, Pierre Mounier (EHESS; OPERAS) argues that the current period marks the end of an era in the relationship between science and society. In this context, writing the history of Open Science means examining how the Internet and neoliberal management practices in research institutions have profoundly transformed the idea of research autonomy, historically defended by researchers themselves.

This article discusses the connection between Open Science and citizen science. It is based on a round table discussion held in Lausanne in June 2025. Simon Dumas Pimbault (Open Edition Lab) summarises the main arguments raised, giving prominence to direct quotes from the speakers.

Citizen science is based on the idea that people outside academia – citizens – can also collaborate with researchers. In his article, Tizian Zumthurm, project manager Citizen Science for the Science et Cité Foundation, provides an overview of the development of citizen science in Switzerland and presents an interactive checklist for planning and implementing projects.

Research infrastructures are key to the foundations of Open Science. In this blog post, Stephen Hart (University of Bern) and Francesco Beretta (University of Neuchâtel) discuss the background and current status of a research infrastructure project focused on managing historical data in a linked open data environment. 

Between 2023 and 2025, the Open Elite Data Project sought to make the data in the Swiss Elite Observatory (OBELIS) database publicly available. This article, written by Felix Bühlmann, discusses the main findings of the project and the challenges encountered in balancing personal data protection and accessibility requirements.

Moritz Mähr and Moritz Twente report on a workshop they organized on open access and open peer review in the digital humanities. Their post discusses possible alternatives to the current system of scientific publishing, based on the involvement of research communities, preprint servers, and collaborative peer review.

In this blog post, Thomas Leibundgut, co-coordinator for Open Science at swissuniversities, presents the goals and achievements of the Swiss national Open Science program. Drawing on the two strategic pillars – Open Access and Open Research Data – the author highlights the progress made between 2021 and 2024, as well as the new directions of the Open Science II program (2025–2028). The discussion also features key projects from the field of humanities and social sciences.

Cristina Grisot, coordinator of the DARIAH-CH network, reflects on the study day dedicated to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and CARE (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics) principles in the Humanities and Social Sciences. In her text, she sheds light on the concrete challenges faced by researchers in implementing these principles and offers a reflection on the ethical, technical, and political issues surrounding responsible data management in the HSS.

Julien Raemy is a Data Scientist at the Swiss Federal Archives and a lecturer at HEG Geneva. In this blog post, he outlines the main components of his course on Open Data and highlights the advantages of open platforms and formats in the field of education, which make educational content accessible to a wider audience.