One scientist, one politician, the one topic: Open Science. ZPID Director Prof. Dr. Michael Bosnjak had the opportunity to meet Dr. Wiebke Esdar, SPD member of the German parliament (Bundestag). The occasion was the event "Leibniz im Bundestag", which takes place once a year.
Members of the parliament are given the opportunity to meet scientists from the Leibniz Association and talk to them about topics of personal interest to them. "Public Open Science vs. commercialisation of scientific work" was the concrete topic proposed by ZPID.
At the meeting Bosnjak had the opportunity to elucidate the strategy of ZPID, which is committed to the idea of Open Science. ZPID sees itself as a Public Open Science Institute for Psychology.
Three specific areas were addressed: the preregistration of studies (registered reports), which is intended to improve the quality of scientific work; the green Open Access route, which will allow free access to knowledge after an embargo period; and open science in general, which will allow access to knowledge without payment barriers.
"It was a very positive dialogue. I am hopeful that Open Science will increasingly become reality. The topic has top priority on the science policy agenda," Bosnjak said. "Mrs Esdar showed great interest in open and transparent science."
Wiebke Esdar, who is a psychologist herself, also drew a positive conclusion from the meeting: "As a politician and psychologist with a doctorate, the close exchange with science is elementary for me. Open Science is an important prerequisite for making knowledge accessible to as many people as possible. However, we will only achieve this goal through dialogue with the actors involved."