--- title: The Center for Open Science is a Culture Change Technology Company description: technology, culture, research image: https://www.cos.io/hubfs/still-life.jpg --- - Our sites: - [OSF](https://osf.io) - [TOP Guidelines](https://www.cos.io/initiatives/top-guidelines) - [* *Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/cos.io)[* *Mastodon](https://fosstodon.org/@CenterforOpenScience)[* *Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-for-open-science/)[* *YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@CenterforOpenScience) - [**  Shop](https://www.redbubble.com/people/OpenScience/shop) - [**  Donate](https://www.cos.io/support-cos) [![Center for Open Science](https://www.cos.io/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/COS%202024/cos-full-tag-h.png?width=2000&height=293&name=cos-full-tag-h.png "Center for Open Science")](https://www.cos.io) ** ** # The Center for Open Science is a Culture Change Technology Company May 19th, 2017, [Brian Nosek](https://www.cos.io/blog/author/brian-nosek) Posted in: [Technology](https://www.cos.io/blog/tag/technology), [Research](https://www.cos.io/blog/tag/research), [Culture](https://www.cos.io/blog/tag/culture) ![](https://www.cos.io/hubfs/still-life.jpg) Last night, the [Center for Open Science](http://cos.io/) received the “Startup of the Year” award at the[ CBIC awards gala](http://cvillebic.org/awards), an annual showcase of technology innovation in our home town of Charlottesville, VA.  This was COS’s third nomination for the award and final year of eligibility in the startup category.  We are very grateful to our Charlottesville community for supporting and recognizing our efforts, and very proud of the progress that we have made. It is unusual for a organization like ours to win awards as a technology startup.  But COS is an unusual organization.   We are a non-profit -- we are [mission-driven](https://cos.io/about/mission/), we do not monetize our products, and we are aiming to reshape the research culture.  We build exclusively [free and open public goods](https://github.com/CenterForOpenScience) for the research community.   Simultaneously, to meet our mission, we operate like a commercial technology company.  Our team is a highly talented, committed group of developers, designers, researchers, change agents, and operations specialists.  We have an efficient, commercial-grade product development process and operate at the pace of the competitive marketplace.  We maintain a modern, enterprise-level technology stack that is starting to scale.   --- ![team](https://cdn.cos.io/media/images/team1.width-800.jpg) --- We operate in this hybrid fashion because a non-profit monetization model (none) and a commercial operational model (fast, efficient, scalable) are both essential for our mission.  We exist to disrupt the status quo of scholarly communication with public goods infrastructure. We are fostering a new, open technological ecosystem that connects the entire research lifecycle, and will put the [power of innovation into the hands of the scholarly community](https://cos.io/blog/public-goods-infrastructure-preprints-and-innovation-scholarly-communication/) itself.  [OSF Preprints](https://osf.io/preprints/), and the many [community-run services it supports](https://cos.io/our-products/osf-preprints/), is just one interface illustrating what is coming for many other verticals of scholarly communication such as repositories, registries, and journals. So how can we operate with the ideals of a non-profit and the innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness of a commercial enterprise?  We are fortunate to have generous funders and donors who share our vision for transforming the scholarly communication landscape.  Our supporters recognize that disrupting a multi-billion dollar industry requires investment.  The generosity to date has established the foundational technology upon which we have begun to scale.  And, [we need your help](https://cos.io/donate/) to support this transition to scale.  If we continue to execute [our strategic plan](https://osf.io/x2w9h), your investment in COS will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all areas of research.  Opening the research lifecycle and fostering a marketplace for community-led innovation will provide an orders of magnitude return on investment for the social good. On the occasion of this award, we thank the [financial supporters](https://cos.io/about/our-sponsors/) that have made it possible to get this far.  And, anticipatory thanks to [future supporters](https://goo.gl/N5s4ez) that will help us scale the products and services to meet the needs of the research community. Here's a video of Rusty Speidel, COS Marketing Manager, accepting the award on the team's behalf. [https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6ENOzZVztPpXzlJTzFBdnlqS2c](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6ENOzZVztPpXzlJTzFBdnlqS2c) ### Recent Posts ![Center for Open Science](https://www.cos.io/hubfs/Logos/COS%202024/cos-full-tag-h-w.png) 6218 Georgia Avenue NW, Suite #1, Unit 3189 Washington, DC 20011 Email: [contact@cos.io](mailto:contact@cos.io) - [* *Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/cos.io) - [* *Mastodon](https://fosstodon.org/@CenterforOpenScience) - [* *Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-for-open-science/) - [* *YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@CenterforOpenScience) **Join our mailing list** [![Creative Commons License](https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Unless otherwise noted, this site is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). [Translation Help](https://www.cos.io/how-to-translate) | [Terms of Use](https://github.com/CenterForOpenScience/centerforopenscience.org/blob/master/TERMS_OF_USE.md) | [Privacy Policy](https://github.com/CenterForOpenScience/centerforopenscience.org/blob/master/PRIVACY_POLICY.md) - [**About**](https://www.cos.io/about) - [Team](https://www.cos.io/about/team) - [Board](https://www.cos.io/about/board) - [Partners](https://www.cos.io/about/partnership-framework) - [News](https://www.cos.io/about/news) - [Impact](https://www.cos.io/impact) - [History](https://www.cos.io/timeline) - [Finances](https://www.cos.io/about/finances) - [Compliance and Standards](https://www.cos.io/compliance-and-standards) - [Diversity, Equity & Inclusion](https://www.cos.io/about/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-at-cos) - [Careers](https://www.cos.io/careers) - [**Engage**](https://www.cos.io/engage) - [Tools](https://www.cos.io/tools) - [Training](https://www.cos.io/services/training) - [Community Building](https://www.cos.io/community-building) - [Policy Reform](https://www.cos.io/policy-reform) - **  [Donate](https://www.cos.io/support-cos) - [**Open Science**](https://www.cos.io/open-science) - [Preregistration](https://www.cos.io/initiatives/prereg) - [Registered Reports](https://www.cos.io/initiatives/registered-reports) - [**Research**](https://www.cos.io/services/research) - [SCORE](https://www.cos.io/score) - [RP: Cancer Biology](https://www.cos.io/rpcb) - [RP: Psychology](https://osf.io/ezcuj/wiki/home/) - [Events](https://www.cos.io/events) - [Blog](https://www.cos.io/blog) - [Contact](https://www.cos.io/contact-us) - [Shop](https://www.redbubble.com/people/OpenScience/shop) - [OSF](https://osf.io) - [TOP Guidelines](https://www.cos.io/initiatives/top-guidelines) **Responsible stewards of your support** [![Charity Navigator](https://www.cos.io/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/charity-navigator.png?width=100&name=charity-navigator.png)](https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/461496217)[![Platinum Transparency 2023](https://widgets.guidestar.org/TransparencySeal/9294495)](https://www.guidestar.org/profile/46-1496217)[![SOC 2](https://www.cos.io/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/badge-soc2.png?width=100&name=badge-soc2.png)](https://www.aicpa-cima.com/resources/landing/system-and-organization-controls-soc-suite-of-services) COS has earned top recognition from **[Charity Navigator](https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/461496217)** and **[Candid](https://www.guidestar.org/profile/46-1496217)** (formerly GuideStar) for our financial transparency and accountability to our mission. COS and the OSF were also awarded SOC2 accreditation in 2023 after an independent assessment of our security and procedures by the **[American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)](https://www.aicpa-cima.com/resources/landing/system-and-organization-controls-soc-suite-of-services)**. We invite all of our sponsors, partners, and members of the community to learn more about how our organization operates, our impact, our financial performance, and our nonprofit status. **Photo Stream** - - - - - - - - - - - -