With or without a common policy at a national, institutional or disciplinary level, Open Science practices already exist in academic research. Within this ongoing cultural shift, increasingly acknowledged by entire research communities, individuals still have a foundational role to play.
This is especially true for Open Data and Open Source, as every aspect – from individual inclinations up to the research field – affects the already vast range of needs, practices and tools for data and code. By contrast, support and guidance services offered by academic institutions are more circumscribed, or still unknown by the researchers.
This lightning talk addresses the possibilities offered by a Data Champions community to tackle the mentioned shortcomings. Using the EPFL example, we delineate: the essential steps to build and foster such a community; pros and cons; its synergy with central services; its potential impact as a bottom-up force to boost change towards Open Science.