Considering open science in funding calls and use of funding

Application guidelines: Open access to scientific publications

In most Research Council funding calls, applicants are requested to submit a publication plan as part of their applications. Applicants must take into account the Research Council’s guidelines on open access to scientific publications already at the application stage. Read more in the policies on open access to scientific publications and the application guidelines on open access.

Application guidelines: Data management and openness

In most Research Council funding calls, applicants are requested to provide basic information on the research data to be collected and used during the research, on data management and on the possible implementation of open access. Applicants must take into account the Research Council’s policies on data management and open data already at the application stage. Read more in the policies on open research data and the application guidelines on data management and openness.

Application guidelines: Data management plan

The Research Council requires an actual and more comprehensive data management plan only from projects that have been granted Research Council funding. Read more in the guidelines on the data management plan and the instructions on how to submit the plan to the Research Council.

Review and decision process

In the review and decision-making, the Research Council takes into account the plans for open science related to the implementation of the research project as part of the promotion of open access to research outputs on the one hand, and as part of the implementation of responsible science on the other. Open science is one of the Research Council’s science policy objectives that are taken into account when funding decisions are made.

Use of funding

Each favourable Research Council funding decision is accompanied by the terms and conditions that apply to the funding. The activities of the funded research project should always be based on the funding terms in force at the time of the funding call. In the funding terms and conditions in force as of 1 January 2021 (PDF), issues related to open science are addressed in section 6.2, ‘Publishing, data and open science’.

Reporting on research funded by the Research Council

The Research Council asks completed research projects to report on their activities and outputs. In connection with final reporting, we also request information on open access to scientific publications and research data. Where necessary, we require that scientific publications published behind a paywall be made public. Projects may also report on other achievements or challenges related to the implementation of open science. See more detailed guidelines on final reporting.