Open science by default. The «new normal» for research

This work addresses the new paradigm of Open Science (OS) in Europe but taking into account its global reach It analyses the origin, scope, and evolution of Open Science along with the policies, recommendations, and conditions for the dissemination of scientific knowledge, discussing the delay in OS’s full implementation First, the concept and scope of Open Science versus Open Access and its interaction with Open Knowledge/Scholarship is reviewed, as well as the need to maintain the name as a «brand» Second, we describe the requirements, reflections, and parameters to make science a common good Also reviewed are the challenges of Open Science in Europe, which have become the main pillars and/or constituent elements of Open Science The implementation of Open Science is discussed detailing two approaches: 1) the creation of formal policies and strategies at Member State level (top-down), and 2) the bottom-up implementation by stakeholders through Practical Commitments for Implementation (PCIs) Likewise, the real problems that prevent stakeholders from leading systemic change towards Open Science are highlighted Finally, the paper reflects on the effect of COVID-19, which has underlined the urgent need for Open Science This article gathers, as an essay, the experience and work carried out over the last four years in the European Open Science Policy Platform, where the author has been chair in the second mandate of the platform (2018-2020), as well as some of the main theories and developments of Open Science, while reflecting the state of the art at the end of the Horizon2020 European framework program © 2021 CSIC