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Minimum Viable Skills for Policymaker

Introduction: Open Science mission for this role

The Minimum Viable Skillset (MVS) sets out to describe a shared framework for recognizing the competencies required for policymakers in advancing Open Science. Policymakers play a key role in creating the strategic conditions that promote Open Science practices and ensure their integration into national and international research frameworks. They work with stakeholders to establish, implement, and govern policies that support the adoption of Open Science, providing the necessary frameworks, resources, and partnerships that enable the transparent, collaborative, and accessible use of research data.

In the Open Science ecosystem, policymakers serve as both advocates and enablers of Open Science, ensuring that the principles of transparency, accessibility, and collaboration are embedded within research practices and governance structures. Their role is crucial in fostering the use of Open Science in evidence-based decision-making, aligning policy goals with scientific research outcomes.

The MVS for policymakers recognises two complementary but distinct roles. The first focuses on developing policies that support Open Science, described as 'Research Policy/Decision Maker Facilitating Open Science'. The second is focused on using credible research data to inform specific policy decisions, and is described as 'Evidence-informed Policy and Decision Maker.'

Research Policy/Decision Maker Facilitating OS Evidence-informed Policy and Decision Maker
Research Policy and Decision Makers act as facilitators for the development and promotion of Open Science policies. They create frameworks and provide the necessary support to promote the adoption of OS practices at national and international levels. This includes mobilizing resources, building partnerships, and ensuring policies align with OS principles like FAIR. Evidence-informed Policy and Decision Makers gather, assess, and synthesize credible research data to design policies addressing specific societal or scientific issues. They ensure that policy decisions are data-driven and aligned with the principles of Open Science, considering the relevance and quality of evidence to inform their decisions.
Associated function titles: Research Policy Maker, Science Policy Facilitator, Strategic Policy Advisor. Associated function titles: Policy Designer, Open Science Data Analyst, Policy Advisor.

Essential skills and competences

Research role Decision maker role
- In-depth understanding of science practice, OS and FAIR principles and practices. - Basic understanding of OS/ FAIR principles.
- Expertise in establishing appropriate strategies, frameworks and courses of action to foster and enhance OS. - Knowledge of OS services, resources and research practices that produce evidence relevant to the decision-making context.
- Ability to relate OS practices to the interests of Research Performing Organisations, Funders, and other stakeholders. - Expertise in applying evidence from OS to the decision-making context, considering the opportunities, limitations, and constraints.
- Ability to assess the financial sustainability of policy outcomes. - Knowledge management: synthesising outputs of research and consultation, identifying their relevance to specific issues and stakeholders.
- Knowledge about Intellectual property rights and non-personal data management. - Policy evaluation: ability to monitor and evaluate existing policies relevant to the decision-making context, including their implementation and outcomes.
- Knowledge of Ethical principles, frameworks and codes of conduct applicable to research. - Basic knowledge of research integrity principles, frameworks and ethical codes.
- Knowledge of legal issues related to data governance including data use agreements and personal data regulations. - Knowledge of the responsible use of data-driven technologies.

Soft/ transversal skills

  • Negotiating with stakeholders to articulate rights and responsibilities for policy implementation.

  • Advocating policy measures by addressing the audiences needed to mobilise key enablers and other human resources.

  • Mobilising and managing financial and material resources, demonstrating trustworthiness.

  • Complying with regulations and respecting confidentiality obligations.

  • Using initiative to formulate policy implementation strategies.

  • Applying systemic thinking to critically evaluate evidence and its sources.

Background assumptions

Main activities – Research role Main activities – Decision-maker role
- Promotes and supports OS. - Identifies available OS outcomes relevant to an issue that requires a policy.
- Engages all the appropriate target audiences & key stakeholders. - Collaborates with expert communities for elicitation, review and evaluation of data and design of a policy.
- Identifies actions to advance national policies on FAIR and OS. - Deploys appropriate policy outcome monitoring and evaluation designs based on OS evidence.
- Understands the importance of addressing gaps in provision of digital skills for FAIR and OS. - Ensures inclusiveness in evidence’s production and evaluation.
- Promotes digital skills for data intensive science transferable across different sectors. - Promotes and supports OS as a source of evidence.
- Sets up policies or a strategic framework which serve to promote a preferred course of action and could include financial support research.

Contributes to which Open Science outcomes?

Research role Decision-maker role
- Setting up the right frameworks, incentives, and financial support to enhance the use of Open Science and ensure its continuous support. - Thorough research of available open data and identification of information that is timely, relevant and credible.
- Creating the appropriate partnerships with key stakeholders. - Appropriate consultation of researchers and other stakeholders like citizens, considering the specificity of their activity (scientist vs. politician) and role (honest broker vs. issue advocate).
- Building a team of experts. - Synthesis of gathered information to design a policy relevant to a specific issue.

Further Information - Open Science Skills Terms

OS skills terms match the essential skills in this MVS to competence definitions from relevant taxonomies. The selected terms offer further information to help identify the learning objectives for skills development. Sources: European Skills, Competences and Occupations ontology (ESCO), ResearchComp, terms4FAIRskills, Center Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement.

Open Science Skills terms – Research role Open Science Skills terms – Evidence role
ESCO Research Skills: Perform project management; Show entrepreneurial spirit; Promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities; Demonstrate disciplinary expertise; Increase the impact of science on policy and society; Manage intellectual property rights; Apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities; Promote the transfer of knowledge; Communicate with a non-scientific audience. ESCO Research Skills: Increase the impact of science on policy and society; Promote the transfer of knowledge; Apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities; Synthesise information; Manage intellectual property rights; Demonstrate disciplinary expertise.
ESCO Transversal Skills: Solve problems; Identify problems; Show initiative; Plan; Manage financial and material resources; Participate actively in civic life; Address an audience; Comply with regulations; Demonstrate loyalty; Demonstrate trustworthiness; Respect confidentiality obligations; Exercise rights and responsibilities; Manage digital identity. ESCO Transversal Skills: Exercise rights and responsibilities; Show entrepreneurial spirit; Manage time; Plan; Think critically; Critically evaluate information and its sources; Comply with regulations; Demonstrate loyalty; Demonstrate trustworthiness; Respect confidentiality obligations; Manage digital identity.
ResearchComp: Strategic thinking; Systemic thinking; Mobilise resources; Promote citizen science; Communicate to the broad public. ResearchComp:  Mobilise resources; Critical thinking.
Terms4FAIRskills: Assessment on FAIR data criteria; Knowledge to contextualise FAIR principles to domain; Resource management; Information security; Data policy; Data governance; Privacy governance. Terms4FAIRskills: Assessment on FAIR data criteria; Knowledge to contextualise FAIR principles to domain; Resource management; Information security; Data policy; Data governance; Privacy governance; Data driven decision management; Data access risk assesment and mitigation.
CSCCE: Strategy development; Content planning; Operational planning and implementation; Engagement; Advocacy; Financial management. CSCCE: Operational planning and implementation; Evaluation and assessment; Landscape analysis.

Contributors:

Arnaud Gingold, Karla Avanço, Gabriela Torres-Ramos, Claire Sowinski, Angus Whyte, Dominique Green, Katerina Kyprianou, Ognjen Prnjat, Joy Davidson, Luca Schirru, Emma Lazzeri, Bojana Koteska, Angus Whyte.

Link to any other MVS that this MVS is based on (from those in Skills4EOSC D2.1)

Reference sources

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  2. Claudia Engelhardt, Raisa Barthauer, Katarzyna Biernacka, Aoife Coffey, Ronald Cornet, Alina Danciu, Yuri Demchenko, Stephen Downes, Christopher Erdmann, Federica Garbuglia, Kerstin Germer, Kerstin Helbig, Margareta Hellström, Kristina Hettne, Dawn Hibbert, Mijke Jetten, Yulia Karimova, Karsten Kryger Hansen, Mari Elisa Kuusniemi, Viviana Letizia, Valerie McCutcheon, Barbara McGillivray, Jenny Ostrop, Britta Petersen, Ana Petrus, Stefan Reichmann, Najla Rettberg, Carmen Reverté, Nick Rochlin, Bregt Saenen, Birgit Schmidt, Jolien Scholten, Hugh Shanahan, Armin Straube, Veerle Van den Eynden, Justine Vandendorpe, Shanmugasundaram Venkataram, André Vieira, Cord Wiljes, Ulrike Wuttke, Joanne Yeomans, and Biru Zhou. How to be FAIR with your data. Universitätsverlag Göttingen, Göttingen, 2022. doi:10.17875/gup2022-1915. ↩

  3. European Commission, Directorate-General for Research, Innovation, N Manola, E Lazzeri, M Barker, I Kuchma, V Gaillard, and L Stoy. Digital skills for FAIR and Open Science – Report from the EOSC Executive Board Skills and Training Working Group. Publications Office, 2021. doi:doi/10.2777/59065. ↩

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  5. Lene Topp, David Mair, Laura Smillie, and Paul Cairney. Knowledge management for policy impact: the case of the european commission's joint research centre. Palgrave Communications, 4(1):87, Jul 2018. URL: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0143-3, doi:10.1057/s41599-018-0143-3. ↩

  6. UNESCO. Building capacity for open science. \url https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000383326.locale=en, 2022. Accessed: 2025-02-13. ↩