ScienceLab/2015roadmap

This page includes high-level, detailed plans and deliverables for the Mozilla Science Lab's 2015 key initiatives.

NOTE: This is an active draft.

The Science Lab launched in June 2013 to explore how Mozilla could help enable research that is not only like the web but of the web. Since then, we’ve and tested a model for the program built on Mozilla’s core values and expertise, and engaged in work with the community around open, *web-enabled* science.

We do this by:

• Building communities and technical prototypes;

• Teaching skills needed to further open practices;

• Empowering others to learn, solve problems and build new tools together.

This page will look at what we've learned in our first 18 months, and sketch out a plan to build on that foundation in 2015.

What we’ve learned

We’ve worked with open educational projects like Software Carpentry to train researchers in skills needed to do more efficient research and empower them to build on that knowledge, innovate and teach. Through that work, we’ve learned firsthand the need for skills training and mentorship in research if we’re going to shift practice. We’ve also seen the challenges in scaling and making sustainable volunteer efforts, as well as assessing their long-term impact.

Over the course of the past 18 months, we’ve also found our greatest successes in meeting the community where they are both in terms of skills and levels of awareness, working with them to support and amplify their work rather than the other way around. Through our work with Software Carpentry, we’ve also gained insight to the gaps in training in research settings globally, and the areas we can support as Mozilla across programs and pedagogy, rather than taking a boutique approach.

2015 goals (and elevator pitch)

In 2015, we’ll be further exploring how we can, along with the community, build the supports for truly scalable and connected learning that incentivizes long-term engagement, from curriculum in data to train-the-trainers and a fellowship program. We’ll also be focusing on how to foster best practice in open research through technical projects with the community, and honing our engagement strategy to enable researchers to identify with open science from within their disciplines.

Specifically, we plan to:

• Empower others to become open science champions and agents of change within their own communities. (ie., Fellows, mentors, train-the-trainers.)

• Craft resources and pathways to foster long-term engagement and learning. (i.e., data curriculum, skills training workshops, teaching materials, lasting communities.)

• Serve as an intersection point for the community to foster dialogue, collaborate on projects and innovate across disciplines, specialties and geographic location. (i.e., Sprints, MozFest, community calls, Collaborate platform, forum)

Below we’ve outlined our leading initiatives for the year to achieve these goals:

• FELLOWSHIPS - Our fellowship program empowers early career researchers to become open science community leaders. They will serve as our lead mentors and help empower members of the research community.

• TRAINING - We offer skills training workshops and materials for the research community around open practices and data. We provide the community with pathways to learn the methods and tools to do more open science on the web.

• SPRINTS + PROTOTYPING - We work with the community to build prototypes to test out ideas that further open, web-enabled science. Through our sprints, local events, and online platform, we provide a means for the community to collaborate on code to share within the broader research community.

• MENTORSHIP - We provide members of the research community with the supports needed to start local conversations in their communities. By supporting a community of peers working, learning and teaching one another, we will foster a network of open science champions.

• EVENTS - We host and facilitate events to bring together the open research community on a global and local scale. Through events such as the Mozilla Festival, global sprints, coding challenges and study groups, we provide a place for the open science community to come together, share skills and experiences, and connect.

Defining our community

The Mozilla Science Lab is helping a global network of researchers, tool developers, librarians and publishers collaborate to further science on the web. We believe a community of peers working, learning and building together is needed to make research thrive on the open web.

Below are some of the core characteristics of the diverse community we serve:

• Applying Mozilla's values to further research on the web - The Science Lab takes the values and fabric of the Manifesto and applies them to furthering "open" practice in scientific research. This involves a focus on open technologies, fostering collaboration and best practice, interoperability both socially and technically, and building on-ramps for researchers to gain the skills needed to further their work on the web. For a look at how these values map to the sciences, see v.0 of our "Open Research Map".

• Global as well as by topic/issue/specialty – The Science Lab community is a global one, and community members are grouped together by interest in topics/issues and member organizations which are tied to both key regions and topics.

• Mozilla’s Role – Mozilla’s role is to facilitate and enable engagement between community members (individuals, organizations, technology providers, publishers). We do not direct the community; we enable it and help amplify.

• A Community of Practitioners and Leaders -

• Value for All Community Members – We are modeling the Mozilla Science Lab Community in a way that provides value to all participants – from the individual researcher to the institution and funders.

Cross-org Opportunities

• Open News via Erika Owens: fellows hiring strategy. Open news has iterated on their hiring strategy for their fellowship program, and have a number of lessons learned for promoting diversity and healthy community relationships in their hiring practice.

• Webmaker Mentorship (Laura H., Hive, Chris): Webmaker training has developed and tested ways to identify, engage and incentivize their mentors through an infrastructure prototype and platform that can be remixed. As well, an online learning as a mechanism for engaging outside the super mentors.

• Mozilla Fellows (An-Me, Dan, Dave): We're contributing to building a picture of what makes a Mozilla Fellow; what do the fellows have in common across programs, and how can we frame these programs to understand how the Fellows can best carry Mozilla's values outwards to their communities.

Cultivating community and building for reach

• Connect with academic and research community to identify fellows, champions and hosts

• Enable our mentors to make compelling connections to their colleagues by framing events from within their fields

• Support our fellows' efforts to build lasting movements within their fields

2015 (Q1-Q2) Roadmap

Background links

• Planning etherpad

• Open Research Map v.0

License

This work by the Mozilla Science Lab is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.