Openscapes

  • Let's do better science
  • in less time
  • together






What we do

At Openscapes, we champion open practices in environmental science to help uncover data-driven solutions faster. Regardless of research question, environmental scientists are united by the need to analyze data — and to do so in a way that is efficient, reproducible, and easily communicated. With tools specifically created to meet modern demands for collaborative data science, we help create a positive open culture to enable better science in less time. Our approach:



Engage

We build awareness and excitement. We engage scientists with the possibilities of open data science with empathy, art, and storytelling, using narratives like our own path to better science in less time.

Empower

We help build confidence and skills. We empower scientists by connecting them with existing open software and communities that meet them where they are so they can develop the skills they need.

Amplify

We build champions and communities. We amplify scientists’ efforts through academic seminars as well as blogs and social media to increase the visibility of open practices on campus and online.

Champions Program

Openscapes Champions is a mentorship program that empowers science teams with open data science tools and grows the community of practice in the research group, organization, and beyond. Read how the 2019 Openscapes Champions have supercharged their research, and contact us about participating in the Champions program.

  • One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections.

    John McIntyre

    CEO, TransTech

  • One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections.

    John McIntyre

    CEO, TransTech

  • One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections.

    John McIntyre

    CEO, TransTech

  • One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections.

    John McIntyre

    CEO, TransTech

  • One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections.

    John McIntyre

    CEO, TransTech

Operated by NCEAS and incubated by Mozilla

Openscapes bridges environmental synthesis science with the open movement. Learn more about us.

    

From our blog

Blog posts are both Openscapes stories and advice snippets for the community. Some are cross-posted on Medium.com. Also, see our media page for media, presentation slide decks, and publications.

Read more

California Water Board Mentor Perspectives

By Anna Holder, Corey Clatterbuck on December 7, 2021

Openscapes began to work with and onboard mentors over the summer while also beginning writing the Openscapes Approach Guide to help document our process. This post focuses on what the California Water Boards mentors learned and did as they assisted with the Fall 2021 Fisheries Dependent Data Users (FDD) and NOAA’s National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) Champions Cohorts. This blog post is authored by Anna Holder and Corey Clatterbuck from the California Water Boards Office of Information Management and Analysis (OIMA), who assisted the FDD and NMFS Cohorts, respectively, and the Openscapes team (Julie Lowndes and Erin Robinson) who make the Openscapes magic a reality.

Continue reading

Read more

Openscapes December events & more

By Julie Lowndes and Erin Robinson on November 29, 2021

This is a brief share about some upcoming opportunities - we welcome you to join and/or share with your colleagues. More details for each are available at openscapes.org/events NASEM: Accelerating the Analysis of Geographic Change - December 8, 9am-2pm. A joint National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) meeting co-hosted by the Mapping Sciences Committee and the Geographical Sciences Committee. We’ll be presenting about data interoperability and the Openscapes approach.

Continue reading

Read more

Identifying common approaches and needs for fisheries dependent data

By Gavin Fay, Andy Jones, Anna Holder, Julie Lowndes on November 12, 2021

In September-October, Openscapes led a 2-month Champions Cohort with Fisheries Dependent Data (FDD) Users, with over 30 fisheries scientists across academia and NOAA. These scientists were interested in exploring new approaches to working with FDD, which represents a complex mix of data and information collected to facilitate managing the region’s living marine resources. In the US Northeast, data flow from individual businesses and/or scientific samplers to the region’s scientific and management organizations.

Continue reading

Read more

Strengthening scientific workflow and team collaboration at NOAA Fisheries

By Eli Holmes, Eric Ward, Hélène Scalliet, Corey Clatterbuck, Julie Lowndes on November 12, 2021

In September-October, Openscapes led a 2-month Champions Cohort with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), working with over 30 fisheries scientists across four fisheries science centers at NMFS. These scientists were interested in exploring new approaches to scientific and data workflow, data analysis and stewardship, and project management—as it applies to the complex workflow required in analyses and reports involving diverse teams, data flows, and analyses.

Continue reading