About Open Science - UNESCO Open Science Platform

The UNESCO Open Science Platform supports the 2021 UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science and the 2013 UNESCO Open Access Policy by making scientific knowledge produced by UNESCO more open, accessible and useful for all, across fields such as basic sciences, biodiversity, climate change, water and disaster risk reduction.

A single gateway to UNESCO science

The platform serves as a central knowledge hub, offering a simple, user-friendly search experience to explore research produced by the UNESCO Natural Sciences Family. It brings together diverse scientific outputs in one place, making discovery faster and easier.

Open access to trusted research

Users can access a growing collection of original publications, such as scientific articles, reports, desk studies and policy-focused papers developed or supported by UNESCO. These include outputs from UNESCO' major science programmes as well as UNESCO award and fellowship initiatives supporting scientists across the world. The platform also highlights the real-world reach of this research through impact indicators like scholarly and patent citations.

Turning science into action

The platform goes beyond access by helping users apply scientific knowledge in practice. To bridge the gap between research and decision-making, it features curated Highlights and illustrated Summaries that translate complex findings into clear, actionable insights, particularly useful for policymakers and non-specialist audiences. These features are updated regularly to reflect the latest evidence.

Tracking global progress on open science

Interactive dashboards, including country profiles, allow users to explore how countries are advancing open science worldwide. Based on survey data from 2025 and collected across 81 Member States (as part of the first UNESCO's consultation on the implementation of the 2021 Recommendation on Open Science), these dashboards visualise progress on policies, infrastructure, capacity building, incentives and other key elements of open science outlined in the 2021 UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.

Project team and contributors

The project to develop the UNESCO Open Science Platform has been carried out within the UNESCO Natural Sciences Sector under the guidance of Hanna Shmagun, Project Officer and Project Owner of the platform.

The platform was technically developed by the team of the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC), including:

  • Application Development: Simon Boisseau, Francesco Sasso, Tushar Sharma
  • Data Architecture and Engineering: Massimo Baldassarre, Akshay Randive
  • Discovery and Design: Asia Jackowska, Sthefanne Batista, Marko Ovcak
  • Assurance and Release: Elham Al-Qurneh, Chiara Margari
  • Business and Project Coordination: Evelyn Munoz, Esther Kanyang'onda, UNICC Open Source Program Office

The platform was further shaped through user-testing sessions conducted during the UI design and prototype phases. We thank the following participants, representing different user groups:

  • Mai Tomba, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology (Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Egypt), former L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science awardee
  • Marin Dacos, French Coordinator for Open Science to the Director-General for Research and Innovation and Director General for Higher Education and Professional Integration (Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space, France)
  • Christopher Erdmann, Computational and Research Data Science Specialist (University of California, San Diego, US), Open Science Advisor (SciLifeLab, Sweden), Co-Founder (GO FAIR US)
Open Science illustration