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Federal, funder, and institutional research policies can be complex—but OSF can help. This month's newsletter offers actionable guidance for using OSF to streamline compliance with evolving research requirements.
Whether you're navigating data sharing mandates, preregistering studies, or organizing collaborative projects, these resources and features can simplify your workflow and save you time.
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File Management & Data Sharing Support
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Research policies increasingly require robust data management and sharing practices. OSF's comprehensive file management tools and features can help you meet evolving policy requirements while maintaining security and control over your research outputs.
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- Streamline Compliance with FAIR Principles - OSF’s data management features help you meet funder requirements for findable and reusable data. Add detailed metadata, tags, and licensing information to ensure your outputs align with FAIR guidelines and support good data stewardship.
- Create and Manage Data Management Plans (DMPs) - Many funders require DMPs outlining what you intend to do with your data during and after your research project. Upload DMPs directly to your OSF projects and link them with external tools like DMPTool to centralize your documentation.
- Publish with Confidence - Make your work citable and discoverable by assigning DOIs to public research outputs like OSF projects, registrations, or preprints. OSF’s privacy settings let you control access to individual components, so you can keep sensitive materials private while sharing the parts you’re ready to make public.
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Collaboration & Project Management Tools
OSF simplifies collaboration across institutions and research teams, making it easier to coordinate compliance efforts while maintaining transparency and accountability.
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- Centralize Multi-Institutional Projects - Create shared workspaces where team members can work together, while maintaining their institution’s specific compliance needs. Track contributions and maintain clear attribution across partner organizations.
- Integrate External Tools and Workflows - Connect OSF with discipline-specific tools and preferred systems through APIs and add-ons. Sync with reference managers, statistical software, and institutional repositories to create unified research workflows.
- Version Control and Audit Trails - Maintain transparent, detailed records of changes to your work on OSF. Built-in version control tracks updates and revisions to files, and OSF’s activity log provides a clear audit trail of project activity. You can also integrate with external tools like GitHub and GitLab for even more robust versioning and collaboration.
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Updated TOP 2025 Guidelines
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The Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines, established in 2015 as a collaborative initiative, have been updated with an enhanced framework for advancing open science practices. These guidelines provide clearer pathways for journals, funders, and institutions to implement transparency standards, and researchers can look to TOP for recommended steps to improve the verifiability of their claims.
The 2025 update reflects nearly a decade of feedback from implementers and introduces enhanced verification components like Results Transparency and Computational Reproducibility.
OSF's suite of tools, from preregistration to data sharing with DOIs, help researchers align with TOP standards and navigate the evolving landscape of research transparency.
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Justice Innovation Lab: Advancing Data-Driven Policy
The Justice Innovation Lab— a nonprofit that works to create a more equitable and fair criminal justice system through data-informed and community-centered solutions—uses OSF to preregister randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and improve transparency in policy-relevant research.
By designing and analyzing rigorous studies, JIL supports the development of policies that are both effective and accountable. To promote transparency and reproducibility in these efforts, the team integrates the OSF into its workflow.
In our Q&A, Chief Implementation Officer Rory Pulvino shares how OSF helps the organization strengthen the rigor of prosecutorial policy evaluations, support collaboration across partners, and align with growing calls for open and accountable research in the public sector
Read more.
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EUR Elevates Research Transparency & Collaboration
Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) proactively promotes open practices among its researchers, fostering a culture of transparency, collaboration, and accelerated knowledge sharing. The university has established many open science initiatives, including the Open Science Community Rotterdam and a four-year Open & Responsible Science strategy program.
In 2022, EUR became an OSF Institutions member to increase the visibility of researchers who use OSF to share research and educational outputs, supporting data sharing practices that enhance transparency and rigor.
As an OSF Institutions member, EUR has access to dedicated tools to improve workflow efficiency, track outputs across its research community, and support librarians and other research support staff in meeting policy requirements and data sharing standards.
Read more.
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For more useful resources to support the sharing and discovery of your research, check out our upcoming free webinars!
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Getting Started on the OSF: A Hands-On Guide
Second Monday of each month
11 AM ET
Join our monthly webinars to explore use cases that highlight how OSF can support your open science practices and solve common problems many researchers face throughout the research lifecycle, along with a guided tour of key workflows and features.
Sign up
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OSF Institutions for Librarians and Research Support Staff
First Thursday of each month
1 PM ET
Register for this monthly webinar to learn more about OSF Institutions, a flexible workspace designed to support librarians, research data managers, and professionals who assist researchers across disciplines and institutions.
Sign up
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We are always looking for volunteers to help give feedback on the newest updates of the OSF. If you are interested in providing feedback in the form of surveys and focus groups, please fill out our contact enrollment form below and we will be in touch with opportunities to get involved!
Sign up form here. |
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OSF is developed and maintained by the Center for Open Science (COS), a nonprofit organization. COS works to transform the culture of scientific research by developing open research technologies, offering training resources, engaging with research communities, conducting metaresearch, and partnering for change with science funders, institutions, and policymakers.
We invite you to learn more about COS’s efforts and to discover how open science is evolving across many different research landscapes by registering for our newsletter. We respect your privacy—and your inbox! We won’t spam you, and we will never sell, rent, or trade your contact information. You may unsubscribe from all COS communications at any time.
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