Open Source @ PIK

As a member of the Leibniz association PIK commits itself to the idea of Open Science to make research results discoverable and accessible on the Internet.

PIK Policy

PIK supports contributing to Open Source and Open Data. By default, PIK supports that software developed at the institute is open sourced without further approval given that a minimal set of requirements (see bottom of this page) is met. This is enshrined in the PIK Open Source and Open Data Policy.

Such activities can increase visibility of authors, improve reproducibility and transparency of research findings and foster collaborations within the scientific community. Meanwhile more and more funding agencies, research organizations and publishers request Open Science also for scientific software such as models and tools and for research data.

The Software, Data and Models Council set up a permanent advisory group on Open Source / Open Data. It can be reached at openscience@pik-potsdam.de

Considerations for legacy software

In the case of software that did not intend an open strategy in the beginning of their development there might be additional complications, especially if not all contributors were employed at PIK throughout development. If you intend to open source such a model, or otherwise are uncertain whether the conditions given in the Open Source Policy and detailed in the Guidelines are satisfied, please reach out to the OpenScience group (openscience@pik-potsdam.de) and compliance.

Open Source Policy Requirements

  • Authors have read and understood the PIK Open Source guidelines.
  • If third party software or libraries are used, the chosen software licenses are compatible with each other.
  • All contributors agree to publication and to the chosen license. If people from other institutions contribute they have the right to do so.
  • There are no conflicting requirements, e.g. in knowledge & technology transfer projects, that might prevent open publication, or by agreement within research groups.
  • The affiliation to PIK is marked at a suitable location