After the poetry exercise, we asked participants to define the core values they believe should guide the composable science movement—not as abstract ideals, but as compasses for real decisions. Each person offered a value (e.g. reuse, collaboration, transparency, empowerment) and identified its opposite (e.g. finished, selfishness, gatekeeping, suppression). This exercise surfaced a shared belief that changing how science is built and shared means changing the culture that underpins it.

Why Values Matter in Movement-Building¶

Values clarify what we stand for—especially when the vision is complex or evolving. In a system as tangled as scientific publishing, values offer a simple, powerful through-line for navigating ambiguity and making trade-offs. They drive alignment across diverse contributors. Movements thrive when people with different roles—researchers, funders, technologists—can rally around shared principles, even if they disagree on methods.

Values guide behavior before systems are in place. Before there are policies, platforms, or standards, values help us act in ways that make the future real—they’re how we prototype the culture we want to build.

What We Learned¶

There were three themes of values that came out of the discussion and individual work books exercises. We valued collaboration over isolation, openness over control, and empowerment over suppression.

Collaboration over Isolation¶

The first theme centers on working together—across disciplines, institutions, and power dynamics. Participants called for a shift away from isolated, competitive mindsets toward shared purpose, diverse voices, and collective progress.

Openness over Control¶

The second theme illustrated a strong desire to move science out of closed systems and into open, discoverable ecosystems. Participants value transparency, accessibility, and the freedom to explore—and see control, exclusivity, and tradition as barriers to progress.

Empowerment through Reuse¶

The last theme reflects a shift toward empowering researchers to share earlier, remix freely, and act with ethical clarity and purpose.