Cross-disciplinary fellowships are a key to rigorous open and equitable science; position paper

Abstract

In this position paper, we describe how interdisciplinary fellowships can play a pivotal role in the understanding and practice of open and equitable science. To achieve a substantial and durable impact, fellowships will serve a dual role. First, fellows will contribute systematically to the empirical evidence of the effects of open science policies and practices by embedding in highly-active, well-instrumented research environments to conduct highly-targeted, time-limited research projects. Second, the fellowship program will foster the development of leadership and capacity for open science practices within existing communities of scientific practice by recruiting scholars across multiple disciplines who have the capacity and interest to perform systematic empirical metascientific analysis, supporting them in executing and publishing high-impact science-of-science of research while simultaneously facilitating their professional advancement within their primary field.