Who Watches the Watchers? Rethinking Open Science Monitoring
- 2025-09-17 10:45
- 11:15
- Room: 81/R-003B - Science Gateway Auditorium B
- Speaker:
- Batool Almarzouq, , I'm an honorary research fellow at the University of Liverpool and a Research Project Manager for AI for Multiple Long Term Conditions: Research Support Facility (AIM RSF) at the Alan Turing Institute. AIM RSF is part of a £23 million investment by the NIHR in AI, aimed at connecting researchers across consortia to ensure long-term, real-world impact for multi-morbidity. In addition, I have the privilege of being a part of the Open Science expert group by the International Association of Universities (IAU), representing Arab countries. The IAU, initiated by UNESCO, has been a vital global institution since 1950. My involvement in the Expert Group on Open Science involves developing recommendations and sharing best practices to guide universities in their transition towards Open Science. I advocate for transforming cultural norms to facilitate the adoption of open research practices, tools, and ethos, while addressing the existing power dynamics and inequalities in knowledge production. I believes that Open science is fundamentally about  decolonisation by challenging the legacy of settler colonialism, which often marginalised Indigenous knowledge systems, and by promoting the integration and respect of these diverse perspectives in the broader scientific discourse I lead the Open Science community Saudi Arabia (OSCSA) which introduces and contextualises Open Science practices in Arabic-speaking countries
As the open science movement gains momentum, we face a critical paradox: the very frameworks designed to promote transparency and accessibility risk perpetuating the same power imbalances they aim to dismantle. This talk explores the uncomfortable truth about how current monitoring approaches in open science often mirror colonial knowledge production patterns, with the Global North continuing to set standards and metrics for the entire scientific community.
I examine how well-intentioned monitoring frameworks can inadvertently reinforce existing hierarchies in knowledge production. While we generate volumes of "open" research about equity and inclusion, many of these efforts remain tethered to institutions that paradoxically contribute to global inequities. The talk challenges us to move beyond superficial metrics and performative inclusion, advocating instead for a decolonial approach that centres on epistemic justice and acknowledges historical power imbalances in knowledge production.
I propose shifting our focus from quantifying outputs to supporting authentic dialogue about research practices and their broader societal implications. This perspective invites us to critically examine who holds the power to define and measure "openness" in science, and how we might reimagine monitoring frameworks to truly serve the global scientific community.