Express your interest

🔬 The Rise of Open Science Leadership

Open Science methods: developing and using open source software, collecting and working with open data, actively sharing research outputs, and building open communities to connect and empower scientists is transforming modern scientific discovery.

The skills needed to be an Open Science Leader are not typically taught in formal programs, and based on our research are generally learned in ad hoc ways. Open Science Leaders often have little formal authority over people, and rely on building shared purpose, open governance, and on-ramps for people of multiple backgrounds, motivations, cultures, and scientific abilities to motivate.

We are seeing many scientists create new tools and initiatives that require funding and community engagement to grow, and many of these leaders find themselves doing the work of running an organization before they realize it. Based on our research, this predicament can lead to stress, regret, confusion and missed opportunities for broader impact.

🌐 The challenge

People who have created these transformational organizations find themselves in a bind: Their work has become central to their career and, in some cases, to the advancement of science, yet they feel unready and unprepared to run a distributed organization with disparate contributors.

Scientific training programs do not equip the next generation of scientific leaders to be aware of models for funding these kinds of organizations, to navigate hiring and team management, to build communities of practice, or to handle the ever-increasing administrative tasks that keep an organization running. In short, there is no analogue to an MBA for leading Open Science organizations, and leaders often do not have the time or resources to go to business school. We would like to change that.

🚀 Addressing the gap in available training

The Foundations of Open Science Leadership (FOSL) program aims to address this need by bringing together learners, and experienced open science leaders across various domains to gain knowledge and skills relevant to build their own leadership styles.

In this eight-week program beginning in March 2025, participants can expect to come away better prepared to run an organization and better connected to peers and mentors who can offer help when administrative challenges arise. The program is intended to be accessible to potential leaders and community builders at any stage of organizational maturation, from those preparing to launch a new venture to those with years of experience.

🎪 A big tent

We began thinking about open source software in scientific contexts, particularly in our work with CZI EOSS. However, we've come to realize that whether you're working on a citizen science project, training and capacity building, or an open source project, there are similar leadership challenges you'll face. We know your work spans multiple institutions and stakeholders. Therefore, we're making a big tent, to house anyone interested in open science.

🤝 Is this you? Want to join us?

Have you experienced the challenges of leadership as your Open Science project has evolved? Do you feel like you’re constantly scrambling to learn what is needed to overcome administrative burdens? Would you like to join a cohort of OS leaders who are seeking better ways to do their work?

If so, please fill out the below Expression of Interest form. We will keep you informed of the next steps. Feel free to write us with any questions, ideas or ways in which you've experienced open science leadership at [email protected]

CLICK HERE TO EXPRESS INTEREST

Potential Topics

• A practical project where you translate your learning to your own work and projects
• Changes in day-to-day work, from lab science to organizational / software development to management and administrative work
• Navigating overlapping (and sometimes conflicting)  communities of practice, institutions/employers, and disciplines (e.g., CS and biology)
• Project growth phases
• Understanding leadership models (BDFL et al)
• Financial models for projects
• Understanding how being an Open Source / Science leader might impact your career trajectory
• Building welcoming, inclusive communities of practice
• Systems and practices
• Governance
• Running teams
• Metrics and Community Health
• Challenges specific to Open Source Science Projects
• Networking and mentorship
• Case Studies