We are launching a petition to request that OHBM preserves the Open Science Room (OSR) as a dedicated space during the annual meeting for the Open Science community. Although Open Science is a well-accepted concept to some, it is still new to non-WEIRD countries; it will always be new to trainees who are just starting their journey and seeking education, and it evolves with newer scientific and societal and ethical issues. Moreover, the OSR always aimed at being a space to foster and support scientific communities and to welcome newcomers to engage with OHBM at large.

Planning for OSR 2025

In previous years, the OSR held up to 15 sessions (15 hours) in a dedicated room, booked a year in advance, within the OHBM annual meeting in parallel with the research program, not conflicting with plenary sessions. Our sessions include planned formats (e.g., panel discussions), attendance-driven sessions (e.g., table talks), and more spontaneous emergent sessions, which develop from on-site interactions. The emphasis between these planned and emergent sessions varies each year. In 2025, we planned to bring back a working space outside of the OSR and to increase community-based, organic exchanges by reducing the number of panel discussions (3 sessions) and table talks (5 sessions) and leaving more space for emergent sessions (7 sessions). For sessions where speakers are invited, we ensured diversity by balancing gender representation, avoiding an all-white panel, and inviting at least one local speaker for each session. For emergent sessions, we reviewed the applications once before and once during the OHBM, prioritizing topics more relevant to open science while ensuring availability to unrepresented groups in the community. In previous years, OSR content was not screened by the Program Committee, given the spontaneous nature of the sessions, but the OSSIG still submitted its content during abstract submissions for technical purposes (e.g., being added to the program). In December 2024, we repeated this process since we did not receive any new instructions or changes.

What happened in March

In March, the OHBM Program Committee contacted the OSSIG chair and OSR organizers with concerns about not having detailed descriptions and speakers’ diversity information for table talks (anyone who attends a table talk may be a speaker) and emergent sessions, whose content and presenters are spontaneously determined closer to or during the annual meeting. After we clarified the goals of these non-traditional sessions, the Program Committee raised another concern about how these sessions are listed on the program and requested a meeting. During this discussion, the program listing issue seemed to have been resolved. However, a week later, we were informed of new scheduling restrictions: 1) OSR should not have overlapping sessions with any scientific program during OHBM, effectively allowing scheduling only before 9 am, during lunch, or after the day ends, and 2) the room dedicated to the OSR would only be available during those limited time slots. This was unexpected, as the OSSIG understood that this room was already booked and dedicated to the OSR and that there was no other scheduled programming for the room. Consequently, it became clear to us that there will be no dedicated room for the OSR. As an alternative, the OSSIG and the Executive Office worked on relocating a dedicated space to a corner of the poster hall, available given the low number of abstracts submitted to this annual meeting. This plan was successful, providing a medium-sized space that will fit around 150 participants and a minimal working space. To accommodate the request by the Program Committee, we ended up retracting all emergent sessions and one table talk from the annual meeting program.

Why

Based on interactions with the OHBM Program Committee, concerns were raised regarding how the OSR scheduling was distracting from and in conflict with the main scientific program. The OHBM committee believed that the reduced time would benefit OSR content, as it would involve fewer parallel sessions with the main programming. The original room was now relocated to previously rejected scientific content, and the current program, after reducing the OSR sessions, now has scientific sessions “competing” with five (instead of six) other activities. While we welcome more scientific content, we recognize how limiting the OSR to early morning and lunch sessions will strain participants, thus conflicting with other activities around those times.

We are also concerned about the feasibility of this year’s solution for the future. For example, the venue in Seoul that hosted OHBM 2024 did not allow off-hour use. We can also see the OSR easily removed from the program in 2026, when OHBM in Europe, where we hope for the poster hall to be much more crowded. A reserved space enables the group to host roundtable sessions, collaborative discussions, and informal interactions that foster open exchange of ideas, knowledge-sharing, and community building. These activities are central to advancing open science practices and cannot be accommodated effectively without ad hoc spaces. Moreover, the Open Science Special Interest Group (OSSIG) supports interdisciplinary participation and often attracts attendees outside of formal session hours. Having a reliable, designated space signals organizational commitment to open science and ensures accessibility, continuity, and visibility throughout the event. After careful consideration, we came to a consensus within the OSSIG that the OSR is a unique space for the open science development of neuroimaging to flourish; it is too important a space for the community to lose. With that in mind, we decided to put together this petition. If you agree with our conclusion and think that the OSR is important, we ask for your support.

Our aim

This petition aims to highlight the OSR’s value to the OHBM neuroimaging community and address concerns from the Program Committee viewing it as competition or a distraction. The OSR is organized by the OSSIG, which serves the general open science community at OHBM, providing an open, dedicated space where people from all career stages can have discussions on pressing or innovative issues that don’t fit the traditional format of oral presentations. Removing the OSR from OHBM would be a loss for not only the open science community but also the general neuroimaging community at OHBM. We will lose a more accessible and diverse space for community-based conversations.

To support us, please Sign the Petition and

  • Help us distribute and voice this concern
  • Share anecdotes and testimonials with us and OHBM’s leadership
  • Send us your feedback and opinion on our activities
  • Voice your concerns at the GAFF meeting

This petition will remain open from June 6th until we bring it to the OHBM council meeting. The earliest possible closing day will be June 27th (Friday, Day 4 of the OHBM) to aim for the next council meeting on the 28th.

If you have any questions, feedback, or thoughts, please don’t hesitate to contact us via our email (ohbmopenscience@gmail.com) or find us at the 2025 OHBM brainhack and at the annual meeting. We will also be hosting a hybrid table talk on “What’s next for OSSIG?” at 1 pm GMT+10 on June 26th (Thu.), Day 3 of the OHBM.

Stefano Moia, Ph.D., OSSIG Chair

Ju-Chi Yu, Ph.D., OSR Chair

James Kent, Ph.D., OSR Chair Elect