ORCA aspires to a world in which open science is just…science, the way research is conducted and disseminated by default.
We have made progress toward this transformative vision in recent times. Organizations such as UNESCO; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the European Union; and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy are in various stages of issuing policies and recommendations to advance open science practices. Communities in disciplines as disparate as biology, linguistics, and data science are working to define field-specific open science norms. However, these activities can be fragmented and uncoordinated, which has slowed the pace of open science adoption. And for many individuals and organizations, the practical steps they need to take to transition away from the traditional closed system remain opaque.
ORCA recognizes that effecting systems-level change will require collaboration across a wide range of organizations and communities. These efforts will encompass open science policies, incentive structures, infrastructure solutions, training programs, and impact assessment mechanisms. The ORCA team has deep experience nurturing coalitions across sectors -- philanthropies, higher education institutions, government agencies, professional societies, international bodies, and industry -- to advance practical collaborations that propagate data-driven best practices. We aspire to drive open science activities that align with organizational values, sector norms, and a range of intersectional considerations:
ORCA’s Mission
As we engage in this work, we are guided by an acknowledgement that open science needs to be easier for all parties. Individual scientists want to know what they are supposed to share, when, where, and under what conditions (licensing, reuse terms, etc.). Organizations want to know how to develop and oversee strategies that align with their missions and values and generate meaningful impact. Figuring this out can be challenging, particularly when layering in differences across geographies and disciplines. ORCA aspires to make it much more straightforward for both individual researchers and the organizations supporting them to move with confidence into an “open by design” future.