ASAPbio is thrilled to join the Transform to Open Science (TOPS) initiative, a NASA project “designed to rapidly transform agencies, organizations, and communities to an inclusive culture of open science.” TOPS is also part of US White House’s Year of Open Science.
Quoting the TOPS website, the initiative’s four goals are to:
- Develop a strategic plan for open science
- Improve the transparency, integrity, and equity of reviews
- Account for open science activities in evaluations
- Engage underrepresented communities in the advancement of open science
How ASAPbio is contributing
ASAPbio’s 2023 roadmap is already aligned with several Year of Open Science Goals, but we will focus in particular on #3, to “develop a plan or pilot a program to reward and account for open-science activities in evaluations and incentives.” In late 2022, we collaborated with EMBO and HHMI to host Recognizing Preprint Peer Review, a workshop to promote community consensus and support for preprint peer review and to create funder, institutional, and journal policies that recognize both preprints with reviews, and reviews of preprints. In early 2023, we posted recommendations from two Working Groups (one consisting of representatives of journals & preprint review projects and the other of funders, researchers, and institutions) on how preprint review can be rewarded in evaluations and incentives.
During 2023, we will continue to promote adoption and recognition for preprint peer review, and we will follow up on the discussions at the workshop by:
- Publishing an article making the case for recognition of preprint review and outlining calls to action
- Tracking policy developments on our website
- Hosting follow up conversations and convenings to support stakeholders considering the implementation of new policies
How you can participate in NASA TOPS
We encourage ASAPbio community members interested in the Transform to Open Science (TOPS) program to sign up to the TOPS listserv and take part in the community forums announced there.
