Moving Research Down the Academic Career Scale (MRDACS)

Hydrology faces critical challenges in reproducibility, accessibility, and collaboration, limiting progress and innovation. We introduce “Moving Research Down the Academic Career Scale” (MRDACS): the idea that work should be reproducible by someone at an earlier career stage and in less time than the original work. We advocate for research tools and methods to be accessible to students and early-career researchers. By embedding Open and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles, modular tool design, and user-friendly interfaces, we can lower barriers to reproducibility and foster equitable participation in hydrological research. We will showcase practical strategies to empower researchers at all levels to build on existing work, reducing time spent overcoming technical challenges and enabling deeper focus on innovation. We present our, and our students, science done over the last decade on the eWaterCycle platform to illustrate how we have practically implemented Open and FAIR principles to support MRDACS. This approach advances equity and inclusivity while strengthening collaboration across academic and professional communities. By prioritising reproducibility and transparency, we can create a more resilient and impactful hydrological science field equipped to tackle urgent global challenges.

At the time of abstract submission, this work has been submitted to, and is in review in, Philosophical Transactions A.