Basic format: 60 or 90 minute session
Intro: - The session will begin with slides explaining the premise of this project (TL;DR premise: Science needs open source, peer-reviewed code to be valid) with awareness that the attendees may or may not be familiar with academic publishing models.
Discussion: A workshop session to brainstorm possible ways to fix this. Suggest whiteboard or A1 poster sheets with sticky notes. Allows people to jot down ideas without feeling too self conscious.
Discussion Topics:
- why is code so often seen as ok to be proprietary, even in science where peer review is vital?
- who do we need to influence?
- how can we change that?
Once everyone has had a chance to jot down ideas, go around and discuss them as a community. Group related notes together.
Wrap up: Agree conclusions and next steps. Gather names if anyone is interested in being involved.
How will you deal with varying numbers of participants in your session? What if 30 participants attend? What if there are 3? The sticky note format will work better with larger groups - I ran a similar session earlier this year at the InterMine Developer Workshop, which had over 20 attendees. That said, a smaller session could result in a simpler group discussion, without need for the post it note activity. Depending on the attendees, a longer explanation of academic peer review and paper publishing may be required.