Meeting the needs of researchers by continually enhancing OSF dramatically increases the returns on research investments to harness the data revolution, increase inclusion of more people and communities to make use of research data, and to accelerate discovery.

Nici Pfeiffer
Chief Product Officer
Center for Open Science

Open Science Framework (OSF) is a free, open-source tool COS developed and maintains to make open practices possible and easy for researchers across the globe. In 2022, federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) released guidance outlining the Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research. The OSF now meets or exceeds nearly all these characteristics, supplemented by the addition of new, robust metadata options. To enable OSF content to be FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reproducible), users can now add funder information, language, and resource type to their registrations, projects, and files. These new features – in addition to leveraging the Persistent Identifier (PID) graph with ORCID iDs for people, DOIs for things, ROR identifiers for institutions and organizations, and Crossref Funder Identifiers for funders – facilitate content discovery and improve the visibility and compliance of OSF material with institutional and funder policies.

National Science and Technology Council Self Assessment

To effectively facilitate open practices throughout the research lifecycle for an increasing number of researchers, OSF must prioritize and guarantee its security and performance. COS and the OSF were awarded SOC 2 accreditation in 2022 after an independent assessment of our security and procedures by the American Institute of CPA’s (AICPA). SOC 2 accreditation is awarded to organizations that meet and exceed the standards of trust and integrity of user data handling and sharing, including our organizational approaches, training, and resources.

Investments in security, performance, and compliance with government guidance is an important part of how OSF remains a trustworthy, open-source solution for the research community. Moreover, these investments can have especially important impact on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, by addressing burdens for researchers from underserved or underresourced communities, and by providing solutions that support the secure management of sensitive data, particularly that of marginalized communities.