Magnetencephalography imaging in progress in The Neuro’s McConnell Brain Imaging Centre with lab manager Marc Lalancette (left) and student James Sung (right). Image by Stephan Ballard.
Open science accelerates discovery, fosters collaboration, and builds trust by making knowledge more transparent, accessible, and reproducible.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, open data and rapid sharing enabled development of vaccines and therapies in record time, changing the course of global health. The same momentum can advance progress on other challenges, such as climate adaptation, biodiversity protection, and reducing inequalities, where solutions rely on openness and collaboration across borders and disciplines. Governments in Canada, Quebec, and internationally are advancing open science mandates. ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï is embracing and leading this agenda to ensure that publicly funded research delivers impact for society.
Our Strengths
ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï is an internationally recognized leader in open science through the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro), one of the first institutions to adopt open science across its operations. With the support of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute, researchers at The Neuro have pioneered new ways of sharing data, tools, and results, while advancing ethical frameworks for privacy, equity, and community trust.
Beyond brain health, ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï researchers are applying open science in a wide array of fields, such as genomics, systems biology, astrophysics, large-scale physics experiments, biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring, digital humanities, global health, computer science and AI. These practices ensure that discoveries can be tested, reproduced, and improved worldwide. ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï is also a leader in developing policy and governance frameworks for responsible open science, including work on Indigenous data sovereignty. Open publishing and library initiatives contribute to this ecosystem, ensuring broad access to our scholarship.
Our Ambition
Our ambition is to scale open science across disciplines, making it a foundation of 21st-century research and a driver of innovation. Open data, tools, and publishing will accelerate discovery while enabling entrepreneurs, policymakers, citizens, and communities to contribute to research and apply knowledge in practice. Open science is also a foundation for commercialization and social innovation. Lowering barriers for access will allow start-ups, industry, and civil society to test ideas, scale technologies, and co-create solutions for more equitable and sustainable futures. Philanthropic support, crucial to establishing our leadership, will remain essential as we expand our reach.
With strategic investment in next-generation infrastructure, from open research software to reproducible workflows and training, ºÚÁÏÍø±¬³Ô¹Ï will help deliver on open science mandates, while strengthening practice through shared principles of transparency, accountability, and accessibility. By embedding openness into every stage of research, we will rebuild trust, accelerate innovation, and strengthen the mobilization of knowledge for society.