about-openscapes.qmd

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title: "Openscapes"
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Openscapes is an open source approach and a movement. It is a way to work together that shifts culture by helping people find each other and collaboratively evolve their work with modern and kind open data science workflows. Openscapes launched in 2018 through funding from Mozilla, via an open science fellowship awarded to Julie Lowndes. Openscapes grew with funding from NASA Earthdata, via decades-long community building leadership by Erin Robinson. In addition to our flagship Champions program that helps science teams shift workflows to open science, we lead multi-year projects with NASA and NOAA. Our NASA work supports scientific researchers using data from NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) as they migrate workflows to the cloud; our NOAA work is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act funds to support NOAA Fisheries’ data, infrastructure, and workforce modernization. We were recently [recognized by The White House](https://openscapes.org/blog/2024-10-03-openscapes-recognized-white-house/) for our movement building in open science.

## Openscapes approach

[Openscapes](https://openscapes.org) champions open, inclusive practices in environmental and Earth science to help uncover data-intensive solutions faster. We do this through our flagship Champions mentorship program, as well as through community organizing, training, and coaching, leveraging existing resources from open communities along with our own.

Our [flywheel](https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/the-flywheel.html) shows our approach to engaging, empowering, and amplifying research communities in open data science --- how we describe kinder, better science in less time.

[![Figure 1 from Robinson & Lowndes 2022. The Openscapes Flywheel builds momentum as a culture change engine as We engage a Future Us mindset through welcoming and creating space and place, we Empower a learning culture by investing in learning and trust, and working openly, and we amplify open leaders by leveraging common open data science workflows, skills and tools and inspire broader scientific culture change. And the Flywheel turns again.](images/openscapes-flywheel-v2023.06.png){fig.alt="Openscapes flywheel shows 6 points around a hexagon: Welcome; Create space and place; Invest in learning and trust; Work openly; Leverage common workflows, skills, and tools; and Inspire. There are three phases that categorize these Flywheel points. Phase 1: Engage = Welcome; Create space and place; Phase 2: Empower = Invest in learning and trust; Work openly; Phase 3: Amplify = Leverage common workflows, skills, and tools; and Inspire."}](https://openscapes.org)

## Our work

Along with NOAA Fisheries, we are proud to work with many teams leading and supporting research, including NASA, California EPA Water Boards, Fred Hutch, the Pathways to Open Science Program. Learn more about these initiatives on our website: [openscapes.org/initiatives](https://openscapes.org/initiatives). 

A few recent talks highlighting NOAA Fisheries with these other collaborators, see [Cross-government Openscapes presentations](media.qmd#sec-cross-gov-slides).

## Learn more

Lowndes et al 2024. [Shifting institutional culture to develop climate solutions with Open Science](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.11341). Ecology & Evolution

Fredston & Lowndes 2024. [Welcoming More Participation in Open Data Science for the Oceans](https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-marine-041723-094741), Annual Review of Marine Science.

Robinson & Lowndes 2022. [The Openscapes Flywheel: A framework for managers to facilitate and scale inclusive Open science practices](https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/4560/). Preprint

Lowndes. 2019. [Open software mean kinder science](https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/open-software-means-kinder-science). Scientific American.

Lowndes et al. 2019. [Supercharge your research: a ten-week plan for open data science](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03335-4) Nature Career Column. 31 October 2019

Lowndes et al. 2017. [Our path to better science in less time using open data science tools](https://nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0160). Nature Ecology and Evolution 1, 0160. 


## Learn more

* [Our story](https://www.openscapes.org/about/)
* [Our approach](https://www.openscapes.org/approach/)
* [More about our Champions Program](https://www.openscapes.org/champions/)
* [Media and publications on Openscapes](https://www.openscapes.org/media/)