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Annelies’ journey shows how researchers can transform their own experiences in the academic system into meaningful changes. Former researcher, now a policy officer at the MSCA Unit of the European Commission, one of her aims is to make open science requirements (such as open access publishing or open data) beneficial to researchers rather than burdening them.
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Annelies recently joined the European Commission’s MSCA team as a Policy Officer responsible for COFUND, Open Science and Synergies. Prior to commencing her current role, she was an FNRS-funded postdoc working at the intersection of archaeology and collections management. Her move to the policy role was motivated by her work as a representative of the scientific staff of UCLouvain and as a slow science advocate co-organizing the inter-university doctoral school on the future of academic research.
Experiences in public archaeology led Annelies to question contemporary academic research practices and their impact on society. As a Master’s student, Annelies joined archaeologists on the Scottish coast, working with local communities to monitor heritage sites damaged by erosion [1]. Community members actively contributed observations and photos, but also their memories and connections to these sites. This led to the organic growth of other research initiatives. Engaging with knowledge in this way meant that “I learned so much faster than I would have just sitting behind my desk,” Annelies reflects.
Annelies’ subsequent research journey across countries and continents revealed an “amazing diversity of ways to create impact”. During her PhD in Australia, an interdisciplinary supervisory team - an archaeologist, a historian, and a philosopher- playwright [2] demonstrated her unique approaches to creating impact, through museum exhibitions, school outreach, press, theatre and poetry. This motivated Annelies to work as a curatorial assistant [3], co-run a humanities outreach project [4], and engage with the media [5]. However, Annelies became frustrated seeing that those “incredible and innovative approaches” to research impact were undervalued by publication-oriented research models. She also witnessed the negative effects on careers and motivation of researchers.
“If you are trying to constantly publish things, that doesn't mean you're actually advancing science faster.” - Annelies reflects. When she returned to her home country, she searched for a like-minded community and joined “Slow Science in Belgium”[6], a platform that enabled researchers to discuss the alternatives to this publish-or-perish model and how universities can be a part of this change.
For Annelies, the path emerged through advocacy during her postdoc at the UCLouvain. Her supervisor actively supported time for policy engagement, and Annelies “caught this bug” from her colleagues. As a representative of the scientific staff (CORSCI)[7], Annelies focused on promoting equity, diversity and inclusion at the university, pushing for policies that supported international researchers and parents. She co-led a lobbying effort by the CORSCI that enabled early career researchers to recuperate project time taken for parental leave [8]. Annelies found the work of supporting early career researchers deeply motivating. This inspired Annelies’ next step, a 5-month traineeship at the European Commission, where she found her values reflected in the international and interdisciplinary MSCA team. When at the end of the traineeship, the position of the policy officer opened, it felt like a preparation meeting opportunity.
Since September, Annelies has worked at the MSCA Unit, supporting excellent research training so researchers can build expertise, pursue diverse career opportunities, and advance scientific knowledge. One of her files is Open Science in the MSCA. Going from an advocate to a policy officer was a big step, but she was able to count on colleagues from DG RTD’s unit for open science and research infrastructures to guide her, once again reinforcing her belief that collaboration is key to change [9]. In this way, she is joining the commission’s efforts to make open-access publication more accessible (pun intended), through considering secondary publishing rights at the European level [10] and creating a layered institutional support system [11].
Her role also involves open data and AI, supporting researchers and institutions to share and follow best practices in effective and ethical use. As part of her doctorate, Annelies undertook social media analysis to understand the diversity of public perceptions of archaeological objects. During this process, she encountered many challenges as a non- specialist attempting to wrangle data, secure GDPR and ensure re-usability of her work, so she is passionate about making the process smoother for other researchers. “This is somewhere where I can see myself making positive change,” - she concludes.
For researchers looking to embrace open science, Annelies echoes the message of Toma Susi [12] - “We are not asking for martyrs for open science,” highlighting that systemic change needs collective action, not sacrifice. Instead, she suggests practical steps of starting with an ambitious vision and then breaking it into manageable steps to apply slow or open science principles in projects. Annelies advocates for seeking supportive mentors, and experts within research institutions and communities of practice like MCAA, where members actively work to improve research culture.
Now as an MSCA policy officer, Annelies sees an immense value in close collaborations between MCAA and MSCA, through shared initiatives to develop an R&I ecosystem that centres researchers. Researchers often underestimate the relevance of their expertise to policymaking, she notes. Annelies encourages everyone to look at how their passion for research can be linked to opportunities for promoting positive structural change. Every journey of transformation, looking back, is made of small steps. What will be yours?
Annelies Van de Ven
LinkedIn
MSCA Policy Officer, European Commission
annelies.van-de-ven@ec.europa.eu
Mayya Sundukova
LinkedIn
Guest Co-editor of the December 2024 Special Issue
mayya.sundukova@gmail.com
References
1. The SCAPE Trust. (n.d.). SCHARP. [Online]. Available: https://scapetrust.org/coastal-heritage-at-risk/
2. A. van de Ven. (2016). The Many Faces of the Cyrus Cylinder: Displaying Contested Objects as Constellations. [Online]. Available: https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2016/10/23/annelies-van-deven/
3. The University of Melbourne. (n.d.). The Classics and Archaeology Collection. [Online]. Available: https://art-museum.unimelb.edu.au/collection/the-classics-and-archaeology-collection/
4. Hands-On Humanities. (n.d.). The Hands-on-Humanities Project. [Online]. Available: https://handsonhumanities.org/
5. Hannah Reich. (2016). Vashti: Judaism’s First Feminist Bad Girl. [Earshot Program]. [Online]. Available: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/vashti-judaisms-first-feminist-bad-girl/7809508
6. Slow Science in Belgium. (n.d.). Available: https://slowscience.be/
7. UCLouvain. (n.d.). CORA - Representation body of the Academic Body. [Online]. Available: https://uclouvain.be/fr/decouvrir/corsci.html
8. Décret du 04/04/2024. (2024).Decret du 04/04/2024 decret relatif au financement de la recherche dans les etablissements d'enseignement superieur (art 14).
9. European Commission. (n.d.). Open Science. [Online]. Available: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/strategy-2020-2024/our-digital-future/open-science_en
10. European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. (2024). Improving access to and reuse of research results, publications, and data for scientific purposes: Study to evaluate the effects of the EU copyright framework on research and the effects of potential interventions and to identify and present relevant provisions for research in EU data and digital legislation, with a focus on rights and obligations. Publications Office of the European Union. Available: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/633395
11. European Research Area Platform. (n.d.). Deepening a Truly Functioning Internal Market for Knowledge. [Online]. Available: https://european-research-area.ec.europa.eu/policy-agenda-2022-2024/deepening-truly-functioning-internal-market-knowledge
12. European Research Council. (n.d.). Open Science Needs No Martyrs: We Must Recognize the Need for Reform. [Online]. Available: https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/magazine/open-science-needs-no-martyrs-we-must-recognize-need-reform