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Open Science Community NetworkAfrica

Advancing open science, together.

OSCN strengthens capacity, promotes responsible research practice and connects researchers across Africa’s five regions — building an open, equitable research ecosystem for everyone.

North AfricaWest AfricaCoordination hubEast AfricaCentral AfricaSouthern Africa
What We Do

Four pillars, one mission

01
Research
Support open publishing, preprints and reproducible methods.
02
Community
Connect researchers across Africa’s five regions.
03
Capacity
Training, mentorship and skills workshops for members.
04
Policy
Advocate for open science policy adoption across the continent.
Network status: Open
New chapters onboarded on a rolling basis

Founded as the Open Science Community Nigeria, our network is growing into a pan-African platform for open science. We connect researchers and institutions to share knowledge, tools, and opportunities across the continent.

48+
Open Science Community members
132
Institutions represented
4
Country INOSC network
5
Active African regions
Our Journey

From an idea to a national network

From a GitHub repository in 2022 to an incorporated national body — the milestones that built OSCN.

  1. Apr 2022
    OSCN founded and the GitHub repository created
  2. Jun 2022
    Zenodo community created; 1st and 2nd talks delivered
  3. Aug 2022
    Joined the International Network of Open Science & Scholarship Communities (INOSC)
  4. Jan 2023
    Official website launched at oscnigeria.org
  5. Sep 2023
    Incorporated as a corporate body on 15 September 2023
Moments

Inside our conference

Highlights from the OSCN conference, where researchers, students, and advocates gathered to advance open science across Nigeria.

Attendees at the Open Science Community Nigeria conference
Speaker presenting at the Open Science Community Nigeria conference
Panel session at the Open Science Community Nigeria conference

Join our community and shape open science in Africa

OSCN members with fellow researchers at an open science gathering
Connect with a continental network
OSCN spans all five African regions, creating a dynamic ecosystem where ideas flourish and breakthroughs are shared.
Grow as a community researcher
Collaborate on open science projects
The Network

Five regions, one network

Explore each of Africa’s five regions and the countries it spans. Regional representatives and chapters are pending confirmation.

Partnerships

Working with

  • INOSC
  • UNESCO / OSMI
  • CNSO-RDC
  • Open Science Africa
Community Events

Past events

Watch more videos

Research from our community

Browse all papers

Links out to AfricArXiv and Zenodo  community collections.

Get Involved

How to join, and what you get

  1. 1
    Join the community
    Sign up and tell us about your research interests.
  2. 2
    Pick your region
    Connect with your regional chapter and community lead.
  3. 3
    Attend & contribute
    Join events, share research, meet peers across regions.
  4. 4
    Lead
    Become a regional rep or help start a new chapter.
What you get
Research mentorship
Guidance from experienced open science practitioners.
Free workshop seats
Priority access to training and skills sessions.
Regional chapter community
A local group of researchers in your African region.
Priority event access
First to know, first to register for symposia and events.

Join our open science community