In the spotlight
News
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Where:
Online
When:
Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
The original event page can be found here.
About
We need to break down the barriers that block access to research, to remove the hierarchies and change the incentives that drive research in the wrong directions.
Octopus sets out to do all of this. By becoming the official and global primary research record, existing only to serve the needs of the research community, it is designed purely to incentivise the highest standards of research practice and culture. Using Octopus, researchers can read, review and register ideas and findings - freely and immediately publishing their work in full detail, and in an open and transparent way and gaining the credit for it.
In August 2021 Octopus Community Interest Company (CIC), in collaboration with Jisc, received £650,000 from Research England’s emerging priorities fund to support the technical development required to move Octopus from a prototype to a global service.
Initially, Octopus’s 8 publication types are most closely aligned with the scientific research process. These are problem, hypothesis, method, results, analysis, interpretation, real-world application and peer review. However, researchers from all disciplines are welcome to use the platform. As we continue to develop Octopus, we plan to directly support academics who use other research processes. We are planning a discovery period to better understand the requirements of these disciplines and anyone interested in participating can get involved by messaging help@jisc.ac.uk.
What to expect at our event
With guest speakers from across the research community, this event celebrates the launch of the platform and looks forward to our plans for the future.
Attendees can expect:
- A demonstration of Octopus and how it works
- Panel discussion: how Octopus can change research culture for the better
- Outline of the post-launch development roadmap
- Opportunity to pose questions to the panellists and project team.
Speakers
- Chair: Liam Earney, Managing Director of Higher Education and Research at Jisc
- Dr Alex Freeman, creator of Octopus
- David Sweeney, executive chair at Research England
- Marcus Munafò, Chair of the UKRN Steering Group and Professor at the University of Bristol
- Steven Hill, Director of Research at Research England
- Ralitsa Madsen, Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow at UCL Cancer Institute and UK Committee on Research Integrity member
- Paul Walton, Professor at the University of York
- Erika Pastrana, Editorial Director at Nature Journals and Open Science advocate
Additional speakers may be confirmed.
Who should attend?
- Researchers globally and across all disciplines (Octopus is initially focused on STEM research, but plans to expand to support for AHSS disciplines)
- Academic research leads, including PVCRs and those specialising in open research, research culture, and research assessment
- Librarians and those in library services
- Those in related roles across the research lifecycle such as funders, publishers, and developers of other research systems.
Contact
For further information, please contact events@jisc.ac.uk
About
We need to break down the barriers that block access to research, to remove the hierarchies and change the incentives that drive research in the wrong directions.
Octopus sets out to do all of this. By becoming the official and global primary research record, existing only to serve the needs of the research community, it is designed purely to incentivise the highest standards of research practice and culture. Using Octopus, researchers can read, review and register ideas and findings - freely and immediately publishing their work in full detail, and in an open and transparent way and gaining the credit for it.
In August 2021 Octopus Community Interest Company (CIC), in collaboration with Jisc, received £650,000 from Research England’s emerging priorities fund to support the technical development required to move Octopus from a prototype to a global service.
Initially, Octopus’s 8 publication types are most closely aligned with the scientific research process. These are problem, hypothesis, method, results, analysis, interpretation, real-world application and peer review. However, researchers from all disciplines are welcome to use the platform. As we continue to develop Octopus, we plan to directly support academics who use other research processes. We are planning a discovery period to better understand the requirements of these disciplines and anyone interested in participating can get involved by messaging help@jisc.ac.uk.
What to expect at our event
With guest speakers from across the research community, this event celebrates the launch of the platform and looks forward to our plans for the future.
Attendees can expect:
- A demonstration of Octopus and how it works
- Panel discussion: how Octopus can change research culture for the better
- Outline of the post-launch development roadmap
- Opportunity to pose questions to the panellists and project team.
Speakers
- Chair: Liam Earney, Managing Director of Higher Education and Research at Jisc
- Dr Alex Freeman, creator of Octopus
- David Sweeney, executive chair at Research England
- Marcus Munafò, Chair of the UKRN Steering Group and Professor at the University of Bristol
- Steven Hill, Director of Research at Research England
- Ralitsa Madsen, Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow at UCL Cancer Institute and UK Committee on Research Integrity member
- Paul Walton, Professor at the University of York
- Erika Pastrana, Editorial Director at Nature Journals and Open Science advocate
Additional speakers may be confirmed.
Programme
Welcome and keynote address from Research England (UKRI)
Octopus and UKRN
Octopus platform demo and Q&A
Panel discussion and Q&A
Final comments and close
Who should attend?
- Researchers globally and across all disciplines (Octopus is initially focused on STEM research, but plans to expand to support for AHSS disciplines)
- Academic research leads, including PVCRs and those specialising in open research, research culture, and research assessment
- Librarians and those in library services
- Those in related roles across the research lifecycle such as funders, publishers, and developers of other research systems.
Contact
For further information, please contact events@jisc.ac.uk