Open Research Policy

From its launch in 2019, RoRI had a strong commitment to open research and open data – both as one of our values (and something we want to see more of across research), and as a core feature of our operational model and methods.

As RoRI was initially hosted by the Wellcome Trust, in 2019, we adopted Wellcome’s open access policies (available here). But our approach to openness has evolved as RoRI itself has matured, and we have been influenced in our thinking by our partners, some of which have more comprehensive frameworks for open research. Some of our projects aim to advance aspects of open research and open data in the wider research system—for example, the Funder Data Platform and the MetaROR platform.

As a result, we have now developed a more comprehensive RoRI Open Research Policy.

Our headline commitment

RoRI is committed to open research as an important enabler of our mission to accelerate transformative research on research systems, cultures and decision-making.

Defining open research

Open research is the practice of making the data, processes and outputs of research transparent and freely accessible, whenever possible, in order to:

• Support dissemination, interpretation and re-use of research;
• Promote research rigour, reliability and reproducibility;
• Allow others to engage with, validate and contribute to our research.

Open research allows us to serve the public interest by:

• Enhancing trust in research outputs and institutions;
• Promoting the widest possible access and public benefit of research;
• Supporting collaboration and wider impacts.

RoRI commitments

Wherever possible, RoRI is committed to:

• RoRI is a signatory to the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment which underpins CoARA (The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment). 
• the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) for scientific data and stewardship;
• the principles of Plan S;

RoRI wants to maximise the benefits of its research to our partners and wider society, while respecting circumstances that limit data sharing (e.g. due to issues of privacy, non-consent, contractual agreements, legislation or practicality). This position aligns with that of many of our partners and other research organisations – as well as with the expectations of the wider public. 

Expectations of RoRI researchers and projects

• Open access: All articles, reports, book chapters, conference papers and other outputs published by RoRI researchers and projects must be made openly accessible. This can be done by publishing them in an OA journal (‘gold OA’) or by depositing them in a repository (‘green OA’)—ideally a preprint repository such as SocArXiv, arXiv, or bioRxiv. We commit to making all versions of our outputs openly available – both versions before peer review (via preprints etc) and versions after peer review.  

• Open data:  We aim for the data underlying our outputs to be openly available where legally, ethically, and technically possible, as well as referenced via a data availability statement in the publication. No personal data will ever be made open, unless we have explicit permission from the individuals involved.

• Data management: Every RoRI project must have a data management plan, to be approved by its steering group group, which states whether data will be made open, and how and when this will be done. If data resulting from a RoRI project can be made open, the data should in general be opened as soon as possible. Data may be kept closed to comply with intellectual property policies of RoRI partners, to protect people’s privacy, to prevent harm, and to meet other legal or ethical requirements. Data may also be kept closed if opening the data would require a disproportionately large amount of effort.

• Licences: We will adopt copyright licences which support the widest possible sharing and reuse for research outputs including data, code and publications.

• Transparent research methods: We aim to share openly the processes and methods we use in obtaining and evaluating research results, as appropriate to specific projects and disciplines (e.g. by publishing research software using best practice techniques for reproducibility, and by pre-registering protocols and analyses in advance of data collection when appropriate). 

• Reproducibility: We aim to test and ensure the reproducibility of our research findings by our own team and by independent researchers.

• Research culture: We support open research cultures which value a diverse range of contributions. We support colleagues to resist unhealthy pressures and incentives in research culture which can compromise research quality.

• Ownership: We encourage publishing in journals and platforms that are owned by the research community (e.g. by learned societies or academies); that reinvest surplus income into that community; and adopt responsible publishing practices (e.g. open metadata).

Underpinning principles

Our open research policy is based on three general principles:

• Openness is a joint responsibility. Being open is a joint responsibility shared by all of us, from individual researchers, to project and group leaders, partners and management.

• Openness is not always easy. Being open may require changing established ways of working and making additional efforts. Opening things that used to be closed may also give a sense of discomfort. Being open is not always easy, but we do not shy away from difficult things.

• Open by default; closed as necessary. Openness aligns well with the mission and ambitions of RoRI, and in general we aim for as much openness as possible. However, openness is not always possible or desirable, for instance because it may violate legal or ethical norms. We therefore commit ourselves to act in accordance with a strong interpretation of the motto ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’. In specific cases where there is a clear and appropriate justification, RoRI’s Partnership Board may provide room for exceptions to our broader open research policy.

Research Ethics and Data Management

Given existing policies and protocols for data management and ethical approval across RoRI’s university research partners (UCL, Leiden, Aarhus and Sheffield), we have not developed separate RoRI policies. 

Instead we ensure that each RoRI project follows the policies for data management and research ethics of the research institution that coordinates the project. Project leads commit to signposting partners and external stakeholders to these institutional policies, and to negotiating any potential conflicts with the policies of other institutions.

Current policies for RoRI’s university research partners can be found here:

Aarhus University, Denmark

• Research ethics
• Data management

Leiden University, Netherlands

• Research ethics
• Data management

University of Sheffield University, UK 

• Research ethics
• Data management

University College London (UCL), UK 

• Research ethics
• Data management