The Open Science Justice Lab
The Open Science Justice Lab (OSJL) is a public-interest-oriented platform within the Global Constitution Project that brings together scholars, policymakers, civil society actors, activists, and members of the public to collectively rethink governance, justice, and sustainability amidst global fragmentation. While a part of the Global Constitution project focuses on 4 key pillars (technology, finance, (environmental) sustainability, and legal aspects of global constitutionalism) the Lab operates on the principle that open, participatory, and interdisciplinary knowledge production is essential to bring to light complex global challenges. This can include topics such as climate change, inequality, ecological degradation, and technological transformation.
Research Question
What are the main concerns, questions, and areas that a global constitution should address from a bottom-up perspective, and how can individual voices, experiences, and forms of knowledge converge to contribute to shared principles for global governance?
Research Design
The OSJL will mostly rely on qualitative data collection, gathering contributions through outreach, social media diffusion, and collective collaboration. Data analysis will be done through thematic (Atlas.ti) and statistical (GIS, Excel) analysis to evaluate recurrences and visualizations of the contributions. Statistical data analysis will also include quantitative analysis such as region of origin, age, profession, and other parameters that may help to observe the inclusive state of the project as it moves forwards, while respecting the ethical guidelines available upon submission of each contribution. The project aims to evolve, grow, and adapt depending on the advances of the Global Constitution Project and collaborative partners’ own outreach methods. The OSJL aims to gather over 1000 contributions worldwide.
How are the contributions integrated in the project?
As the OSJL advances alongside the research team for the Global Constitution Project, the outputs may or may not figure in the draft Constitution. Contributions may figure as references for legitimacy and/or representation (Douglas, 2021) or may be used to further relay the goals of the project in and of itself to a broader audience. The OSJL is grounded in the idea of public interest science (The Royal Society, 2006; Potochnik & Jacquart, 2025), for a transparent, collaborative, socially engaged science accessible to all. In this sense, the OSJL aims to contribute to the broader Global Constitution Project by going beyond academic or institutional expertise alone, towards the democratization of knowledge production and creation of spaces where diverse perspectives can contribute to shaping more just and sustainable futures.
The OSJL acts as a support to the global Research Project. While all contributions in line with our ethical guidelines will figure on the website, any further involvement within the project will be decided by the research team. This shall be made clear through transparent communication during any collaboration and when receiving contributions. As such, the methodology of the OSJL is structured around five interrelated pillars: gathering insights, building legitimacy, fostering community, representing the voiceless, and collaborating with others.
The Global Constitution Project is funded by the 2023 Spinoza Prize (the highest award in Dutch academia for researchers) awarded to Prof. Joyeeta Gupta by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), the national research funding organization of the Netherlands. The project is set to last at least until the end of 2029.