Edmonton, AB
“Know commons”?
Knowledge commons are shared info-based resources we collectively create and govern. More than just the resources, the term knowledge commons encompasses the people who create and use the resources, the infrastructure needed to compile the resources, and the governance structures that impact use. Most of my work focuses on knowledge commons that support academic research, but I am also interested in non-commons approaches to data sharing and governance (especially as these approaches apply to protecting populations that have been, and continue to be, exploited by science).
Work on info-based resources grew out of decades of scholarship on natural resources. A common trait of natural resources is that they can be depleted, and this idea is very frequently explained by using sheep pastures as the example. A pasture only has enough grass to support a certain number of sheep. If every person who brings their sheep to the pasture brings too many sheep, eventually the grass will be depleted and the pasture won’t be able to support any sheep.
That’s why I chose the sheep.
But while some worry that humans will act selfishly and deplete resources for their own short-term benefit, there are many examples of collective action that ensures sustainable resource governance.
Governance of knowledge commons is also dominated by assumptions about behaviours and outcomes. When it comes to knowledge commons that support science, many assume that the fastest way to create the most scientific benefit is to push for open-access approaches to data governance. Research (including my own) has shown that this isn’t always the case.
That’s why my sheep is skeptical.
About Janis Geary, PhD
I grew up in Sanford, Manitoba, and completed a Bachelor’s of Science in Microbiology from the University of Manitoba in 2006. During my undergrad, I became interested in the social and environmental factors that made people more susceptible to infectious diseases, and decided to study public health. In 2007, I started a Masters of Science in Global Health in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Around the same time, I started work as a research assistant on a new project that aimed to address community concerns about a common stomach infection in Indigenous communities in Canada’s western arctic. I became aware of how important research processes were, and decided to pursue a PhD focused on science policy. From 2011-2017, I completed a PhD, and my work examined data sharing of non-human genetic resources for non-commercial work. I currently hold 2 postdoctoral appointments: My main appointment is at Arizona State University and I do work focused on sharing gene variant data to support risk assessment for hereditary cancer, and my other is at the University of Alberta focusing on sharing microbial specimens and data to support community-driven Indigenous health research.