Open Strategic Autonomy: Unpacking Its Role in Research Governance and Technology Development

Less than a decade ago, openness was central to the European Union’s research and innovation policy, reflected in the “Three Os” slogan: Open innovation, open science, open to the world. This vision has been challenged in a short period of time, with the notion of open strategic autonomy (OSA) taking its place.

Recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and more recently US trade restrictions, have exposed the strong dependence of European countries on essential materials and supplies, highlighting vulnerabilities across the EU. In response, open strategic autonomy seeks to achieve greater technological independence and sovereignty, while maintaining economic security. At the same time, OSA aims to protect values such as democracy, liberty, and the rule of law.

OSA has important implications for both The Netherlands and Dutch research organisations, including TU Delft. It directly affects how knowledge is shared, given the ethos of “as open as possible, as closed as necessary.” OSA also shapes the development of critical technology areas, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technologies.

OSA would appear to be an important value for both the governance of research and the design and development of new technologies. However, many conceptual and operational questions remain. For example: How should this notion be conceptualised? Is it a morally desirable concept? Is OSA symmetrical? How does it relate to notions such as weerbaarheid? And how can OSA be operationalised in practice? How can a good balance be found between the risks and opportunities of OSA?

These critical issues and questions are taken up by the recently launched Special Interest Group on Open Strategic Autonomy (OSA SIG), funded by the Delft Design for Values Institute. The OSA SIG offers a platform to collect and consolidate the expertise of a diverse group of researchers from across TU Delft faculties and to look ahead to new challenges and complexities as they arise in an increasingly complex and volatile global political environment.

Interested in joining the conversation?

You can express your interest via the following link:
https://tudelft.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8qUBo7z4W29Vi98

More information about the OSA SIG can be found here