To strengthen the essential role that science and technology play in maintaining national and economic security, the United States should ensure the open exchange of unclassified research despite the small risk that it could be misused for harm by terrorists or rogue nations, says a new report by the National Research Council....
While concerns about certain types of research findings falling into the wrong hands are legitimate and safeguards are needed, the gains in science and technology that flow from the free exchange of information far outweigh the slight risks, the report says. Extreme measures to curtail the flow of essential information or people would significantly disrupt advances that are critical to U.S. military and economic security....
Although National Security Decision Directive 189 (NSDD 189) was enacted to assure that basic research remain open to publication and foreign participation, many government policies and practices have effectively reversed this in recent years, the report says....
After holding a series of regional meetings on university campuses with a broad range of officials from security and academic research institutions, the National Research Council committee identified specific actions that should be taken to foster open exchange of scientific research -- all of which could be addressed by the proposed Science and Security Commission. They include:
Ensuring that grants and contracts awarded to U.S. universities and research institutions do not restrict the publication of unclassified research....
Reviewing the number of research projects that are categorized as “sensitive but unclassified.” ...
[R]eviews are needed to justify limits on “deemed exports,” which refers to the transfer of information to a foreign national within the United States, such as a foreign-born scientist in a research laboratory or a graduate student.
Fostering a productive environment for international science and engineering scholars in the United States. Foreign-born researchers are significant contributors to U.S. science and technology endeavors, the report says. In fact, between 1990 and 2004, more than one-third of all Nobel prizes in the United States have gone to foreign-born recipients. The success of many U.S. universities and research institutions depends on attracting the best and brightest students both at home and abroad....
Comment. The new report doesn't specifically recommend OA. But it's of a piece with earlier reports from the National Academies recommending OA even for sensitive research, on the ground that the risk to security is outweighed by the many benefits, including the benefits for security. For example, a September 2004 report recommended OA to the genome data on pathogens such as smallpox, anthrax, and Ebola hemorrhagic fever. For more detail, and some reflections on the balance of openness and security, see my article in SOAN for September 2005.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/19/2007 11:54:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
