Radical Transparency: A Vision for Scalable Interoperability

This position paper on “Radical Transparency” aims to provide a guiding narrative and practical workplan for the VLIZ Open Science Team for the coming years. This team has been involved in many EOSC-themed and other interoperability-related projects concerning the exchange of academic data and metadata. Through these activities we’ve grown a network and a lived experience that allows us to conclude “This interoperability work, really is a mess.”, while maintaining the ambition to “Keep moving towards «less mess».” This is an attitude we see reflected in a shared vision within many organisations around us, and in the convergence around the use of semantic web technologies.Additionally, the VLIZ context puts us at an interesting crossroads of opportunities and challenges: the limited size of our region (and its funding capabilities) have not prevented a global outreach and involvement. This combination, however, requires us to match injected funding with maximum efficiency and competence. Especially when looking at our role towards the open sharing of high-quality data, we are fully aware that there is no available business model for direct data monetisation, nor can we rely on economy of scale where even a substantial increased costs remain unaccounted-for in a larger context. Making every penny count and looking for reducing costs is an important reality of our operations. Additionally VLIZ often combines this within an extensive network, maximising its outreach. This makes us evaluate interoperability goals spontaneously on them being long lasting, sustainable, resuable and multi-purpose. Finally, for this paper we have landed on a narrative style that seeks to motivate and engage enthusiasm, eagerly assuming that we can substantially contribute to interoperability. We summarise the current state of the art, but do so mainly to serve putting the goals in a sharper light. This might come over as wishful thinking or even pedantic bragging, but it realy serves another goal: To put down an optimistic narrative that inspires, guides and motivates. Be invited to dream along and share our ambition. And beware to: “Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done.” – Amelia Earhart