CWTS

UNESCO Chair on Diversity and Inclusion in Global Science

This UNESCO Chair at CWTS aims to contribute to UNESCO’s agenda to foster diversity and inclusion in science. The chair has two main lines of work:

• Monitoring and evaluation methods that illuminate progress towards diversity and inclusion in science in accordance with the UNESCO mandates of the 2017 Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers, and the 2021 Recommendation on Open Science. The monitoring methods for these recommendations have to go beyond conventional approaches because they are related to values and need contextualisation. To do so, we build on efforts such for monitoring Responsible Research and Innovation (e.g. project SuperMoRRI) and ongoing work on monitoring Open Science.
   
• Developing a pluralistic perspective of global scholarly communication focusing on making visible a broader variety of research activities and communities. A classical example is the exclusion of many scientific journals from mainstream scientometric databases, with potential negative consequences for social development. However, more comprehensive open databases such as Crossref and OpenAlex are becoming increasingly available. As shown in recent studies, these databases provide a more inclusive coverage of locally-related research, which helps in constructing a more comprehensive view of research efforts and their benefits.

The team of this UNESCO Chair includes Ismael Rafols (Chairholder),  Ingeborg Meijer, Rodrigo Costas and André Brasil. We count on an extensive collaborative network in Latin America, Africa and Asia, with ongoing research efforts in Campinas University in Brazil, the Indian Institute of Science, Stellenbosh University in South Africa, and KISTI in Korea.

The  UNESCO Chair Programmes

Created in 1992, the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chair programme is intended to support developing expertise in areas related to UNESCO’s mandate, such as education, culture, communication and the natural and social sciences. This network of over 850 institutions in 117 countries mobilises knowledge to address pressing societal challenges and contribute to development.  UNESCO has developed the 2017 Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers and the 2021 Recommendation on Open Science, building on the notions that science is a common good, that all humankind should enjoy the benefits of scientific knowledge and has the right to participate in it.