PathOS - D4.1 Methodological note on the CBA of open science practices

This deliverable describes a preliminary version of the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework (hereafter the OS CBA framework) specifically developed for the assessment of Open Science practices. It draws from the research carried out by PathOS, whose objective is to identify and quantify the Key Impact Pathways of Open Science relating to the research system and its interrelations with economic and societal actors. With the OS CBA framework, PathOS wants to ensure consistency in measuring the impacts of Open Science by considering not only benefits but also costs and, moreover, comparing them with a scenario when OS is not available. 

The OS CBA framework – presented in this deliverable – builds on principles firmly rooted in CBA tradition as well as on established CBA approaches recently developed for assessing investments related to science and research, including Research Infrastructures (RIs). It focuses on the specificities of the different projects which give concrete shape to OS practices by describing typical costs and benefits along with possible methods which can be mobilised for their quantification. Nevertheless, its application to the assessment of OS practices is still in its infancy. Hence, the approach adopted is explorative and heuristic. The concepts described in this deliverable will benefit from further applications and testing in the specific framework of the PathOS project (on 2-3 selected case studies) and possibly beyond. Future versions will take into account, as best as possible, any comments or new findings. In particular, we expect to validate the type of costs and benefits of OS practices presented in this document, by enriching their description with practical examples gathered from case studies as well as interviews with selected stakeholders in the OS field. An updated release of this deliverable will be in June 2025.

This deliverable is structured as follows. After presenting the rationale for using CBA and the main specificities of OS (Section 1), suggestions on key methodological assumptions (Section3), typical costs and benefits of OS practices along with possible methods which can be mobilized for their quantification (Section 3 and 4, respectively) are given. Then, conclusions are drawn (Section 5).