Five reasons transformative science needs to be open to the world

In the 21st century, we face challenges that pose genuine existential risks to future generations, from climate disruption to emerging diseases and resource scarcity. The path to a future in which everyone can live healthy and prosperous lives on a healthy planet depends on scientific and technological solutions.

Throughout history, transformative science has driven human progress by providing exactly these kinds of breakthroughs. But discovery alone is not enough: governments must translate evidence into effective policy, businesses must realize innovations at industrial scale, and the research and innovation cycle must earn and maintain the public’s fundamental trust.

A simple yet powerful catalyst to accelerate this entire process is to make the outcomes of scientific research universally available – not only to the scientists who advance knowledge, but also to entrepreneurs, businesses, policy-makers and the tax-paying public who ultimately fund much of this work.

Open, collaborative science gives us a shared way to understand the world and a practical base of technical knowledge to tackle global challenges that do not respect national borders. That is why we are creating the Frontiers Science House at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 – a home for open, collaborative science that supports a spirit of dialogue across all stakeholders in the process from discovery to application.

Let’s see how the open application of the insights drawn from transformative science will be the key to the healthful and prosperous future of the global society:

Even under a shifting geopolitical context, scientists continue to work together, using shared datasets on climate, health and biodiversity required to tackle cross-border challenges. Over the past 20 years, open science has expanded to provide governments, companies and societies with a common validated knowledge base, developed collaboratively in cross-disciplinary international scientific communities.

This ensures that science remains transparent and effective. When research is open, scientists in laboratories anywhere on the planet can test and verify each other’s findings. Keeping these channels open not only provides us with the most effective way forward in addressing challenges, but it is also a quiet and powerful form of diplomacy and cooperation.

Global challenges are tempting national leaders and policy-makers towards a more inward-facing stance concerning the operation of science and the nature of its outputs.

The need for transformative science stands to remind the international community that the most important issues require a collective approach. Scientists work on shared challenges that no state or company can tackle alone – the kind that demand coordination rather than confrontation.

The most impactful science is produced in international collaborative projects. When we look at research partnerships and innovation pathways through that lens, the conversation changes: we understand that the diversity of talent and perspectives is needed to drive the benefits of science to all of global society. Competition does not disappear, but it can become a race to deliver solutions faster, more fairly, and at scale.

Science, and our ability to act on scientific knowledge, enables us to see threats earlier, to understand them better and to prepare adequate responses. Obvious examples include advances in epidemiology, energy systems, information technology and agriculture.

Science also enables us to understand how shocks move through a global network of systems that affect human and planetary health. In other words, science gives us ways to move proactively rather than simply react.

The need for a resilient society is a major driver of international scientific collaboration – and for the long-term investment required to support it. Increasingly, that investment must be shared, since no single stakeholder can carry the cost, risk and authority for much-needed global projects. The many successful international collaborations on health, climate and food systems show what is possible when many actors pool resources, data and talent.

For evidence-based policies to work, policy-makers and the general public must trust the expert advice offered by scientists.

With rising polarization and the spread of false or misleading information, people struggle to know who and what to believe. Institutions of scientific authority must communicate transparently, acknowledging uncertainties or they risk quickly losing public confidence.

Science, when practiced openly and communicated clearly, supports decision-making in a way that people instinctively understand. Start with real data, debate the evidence in the open and then adjust if new information emerges.

Grounding policies in transparent, peer-reviewed knowledge – with science visible in public conversation – makes it easier to trust that decisions are being made based on evidence.

Transformative science reshapes our understanding of the world and enables the adoption of new technology. This can lead to large-scale shifts in industry, as well in politics, economics and culture.

For example, in healthcare, advances in omics, precision medicine, pharmaceuticals and robotics can help countries upgrade their entire systems. In energy and industry, new methods for producing abundant energy and new materials for energy storage could speed the move away from fossil fuels.

Ultimately, when the benefits of science are shared, they foster healthy interdependencies grounded in mutual priorities. These connections create stronger incentives for cooperation and peaceful progress. At the heart of this systems change lies a simple force: the deliberate, open sharing of knowledge.

The coming decade will have its share of growing risks, punctuated with critical opportunities, making collaboration essential.

Transformative science can be a practical force for that collaboration. It provides shared facts, a common horizon of problems and solutions, and a way to align public, private, and civic action.

The Frontiers Science House is a place where scientists, policymakers, executives, investors, and citizens can meet, listen and work together.

Science won’t resolve every conflict, but if we invest in it, trust it and share it, it can help us unite around shared priorities long enough to build a better future.