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1 Following Open Access (OA) declarations in the twenty-first century such as the Budapest Open Access Initiative, Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing and Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, the goals of OA and the sharing of knowledge have advanced through the establishment of institutional policies and repositories for research output, funder and government mandates and the growth of OA publishing platforms. However, OA publishing and sharing practices are being adopted unevenly: within institutions, as well as across countries and regions. Distribution of OA research outputs is dominated by transatlantic, European flows of knowledge with much lower movements towards and among African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin and South American countries. Further, declarations and mandates are only a first step. Worldwide rankings and evaluations that currently dominate the higher education landscape provide little insight into the nature of the open knowledge challenge now facing the sector. Established rankings also provide few clues as to how institutions might most effectively navigate the challenges and opportunities of open knowledge. Over the past decade, the rhetoric of open has shifted from the fringes of science, education and communication discourses, to the centre. To a greater or lesser extent, it is now to be found in the language and policies of research and research funding globally. Openness has become a hallmark of Good Science. New tools are needed to help governments, research funders, universities and researchers to understand their place within open …