Open Scholarship Awards

Quick links: 

• Description
• Objectives
• Awards
• Eligibility
• Judging criteria and process
• Application process
• Sponsors

Applications for this award will open late Sep. Join our listserv --managed through Google Groups-- to stay tuned.

Description

The Open Scholarship Awards aim to celebrate early career scholars who have demonstrated exemplary efforts in making their research open and accessible to the wider community. Through this award we aspire to foster a culture of openness and to enhance recognition for excellence in open scholarship. These awards establish a collaboration between the Open Scholarship Community Rochester (OSCR) and the University of Rochester's Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs.

"Open scholarship is the application of open practices throughout the teaching, learning, research and scholarly environment." University of British Columbia Program for Open Scholarship and Education (CC-BY). Open scholarship, open science and open research are all equivalent terms. See UNESCO's definition of open science.

Objectives

• To promote the significance and benefits of open scholarship practices in early career scholars across diverse academic disciplines.
• To recognize and honor graduate students who have made notable contributions to open scholarship within their fields.
• To encourage the adoption and development of open scholarship practices within academic departments and research laboratories at UR.

Awards

Since excellence in open scholarship varies widely by discipline, the type of scholarship and what makes a meaningful contribution to open scholarship for a given project, the aim of this initiative is to distribute up to 15 awards at three levels: Outstanding, Excellent and Honorable on five different tracks reflecting disciplinary boundaries. Applications for the Open Scholarship Awards differ from those considered for thesis/poster/talk awards in that they are made based on what applicants propose and accomplish in regards to making their existing scholarship open. 

• Awards - up to five different disciplinary tracks depending on funding and number of applicants from each area: physical & natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, arts & humanities, and medical sciences.
  • Outstanding prize $500 
  • Excellent prize $300 
  • Honorable prize $200

Eligibility

The Open Scholarship Awards are open to all current Ph.D. students at the University of Rochester. 

Notice: OSCR is not a fiscal entity, so members need to work within an institution for any activity involving payments. Because all the funding for this award is currently coming from the University of Rochester (UR), only UR students are eligible to apply. If you are an OSCR member form another institution, contact us and we will help you advocate for the award at your organization.

Judging Criteria and Process

Nominees are evaluated on the following:

• Accessibility and transparency of open scholarship that contributes to the broader impact of research and demonstrates a comprehensive open scholarship practice.
• Projects can be discipline-based or multidisciplinary; projects and results should feature open scholarship in any way relevant to the discipline of study.
• Eligible work can include projects, datasets, data products, software, workflow tools, computational notebooks, publications, public communications and other results /activities that promote and advance open scholarship broadly.
• Knowledge dissemination: Projects that include significant public and community benefits and/or increase and address diversity and equity are particularly encouraged.

The evaluation committee is composed of faculty members from relevant disciplines, staff, librarians, and data sharing experts (final list coming soon). Librarians complete an initial technical evaluation of the submitted materials checking for compliance with the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) and CARE principles as applicable, followed by an impact evaluation by the full committee. To ensure fairness and transparency, the rubric (under development, coming soon) is publicly available to all applicants.

Application Process

The application process involves two stages to allow for comprehensive evaluation and feedback:

• Pre-registration (opens late Sep 2024 - no deadline): Interested applicants can pre-register their open scholarship plans, outlining their intended efforts to promote openness in their research. OSCR will host two information sessions on data and digital resource management and sharing to facilitate plan development. Feedback will be provided to help applicants refine their strategies.
• Award Application (Jan 2025- Feb 2025): Applicants submit a detailed application showcasing their open scholarship initiatives, including evidence of implementation and impact. The judging panel evaluates the applications based on the established criteria, and winners are announced in early May.

Benefits

• Recognition: Participating scholars and recipients of the Open Scholarship Awards receive recognition for their commitment to open scholarship, enhancing their professional profiles and academic reputations.
• Inspiration: The awards inspire laboratories and faculty mentors to embrace open scholarship practices, fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration.
• Community Engagement: Through feedback and interaction with participating students, the awards are not only a one-time recognition of their efforts, but also an educational opportunity to foster knowledge and skills related to open scholarship practices.

Sponsors

• River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester.
• University Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, University of Rochester.
• Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, University of Rochester.
• Miner Libraries, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Rochester.
• School of Arts and Sciences, University of Rochester.
• More to come...

Contact the OSCR Coordination Team if you would like to sponsor this award. 

The Open Scholarship Awards are an important step in fostering a culture of openness and collaboration in research and education. By recognizing and celebrating early career scholars at UR who are committed to open scholarship practices, we aim to inspire broader adoption of transparent and inclusive research methods across disciplines on our campus and beyond.