ORCA’s activities focus on transforming the research landscape to be more open, collaborative, inclusive, efficient, evidence-driven, and trustworthy. We believe that a more intentional and engaging approach to science ultimately benefits not just the academic community, but society as whole. Among our current and recent projects:

• Convening the Open Science Dynamic Convergence Workshop. In collaboration with CERN and UNESCO and with the participation of NASA, ORCA was pleased to host 90 researchers, students, policymakers, funders, and others from across 30 countries at a two-day event in Washington, DC. The event highlighted impactful open science activities, explored collaboration opportunities, and identified practical ways to speed up the global adoption of open science. More details about the workshop, including presentations and videos, may be found here.

• Connecting Open Science and Civic Science. Working with the Civic Science Fellows Network, ORCA is training a new generation of “science and society” professionals to optimize their project management and communication strategies. The program demonstrates effective ways to align open science with parallel movements that seek to build public engagement and trust in science.

• Building a Measurement, Evaluation, & Learning Framework. Measurement, evaluation, and learning (MEL) strategies are critical to advancing open science— to assess impact, refine strategies, and adapt to evolving challenges. By applying greater rigor to open science interventions, we can better ensure accountability, optimize resource allocation, and foster continuous improvement. To this end, ORCA is collaborating with the Data Innovation Lab at the UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business to develop a robust and adaptable set of qualitative and quantitative criteria designed to evaluate open science interventions, as well as a resource repository to aid in the implementation of the assessment framework.

• Catalyzing Open Science Policy Development. ORCA works with a range of public and private funders to help them align their open science strategies with their organizational missions. This includes informational sessions, staff training, drafting and editing, and any other assistance needed to develop, implement, advance, and manage open science policies.

• Building a More Inclusive Open Science Community. ORCA engages in a range of projects designed to ensure that researchers worldwide can participate in, and benefit from, the global scientific conversation. One example is our work in Latin America to create connections among open hardware, open educational resources, and open science. By bringing open science approaches into the classroom, we aim to introduce the next generation of biomedical researchers to a culture of sharing that could carry on into future stages of their careers.