As we face existential global challenges like climate change and pandemics, a more open and civic-minded form of science is a critical tool to ensure that both research processes and outcomes are more inclusive, and, by extension, more innovative, efficient, transparent, and trustworthy. In an age marked by unprecedented societal challenges, fostering an ethos that emphasizes not only innovative but also thoughtful inclusive collaboration is paramount.

The Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA), an operating project of Multiplier, catalyzes evidence-based, community-driven processes to stimulate the adoption of open science policies, strategies, and activities. The ORCA team has extensive experience effecting systems-level change to advance open science.  Within this framework, a project team directed by Greg Tananbaum, proposes a suite of activities that are individually and collectively designed to advance a more open, accessible, engaging, actionable, and humble form of research. 

Public and private funders will be engaged to better align their funding strategies with open science principles, leveraging emerging best practices and data-driven approaches to policy development. To reinforce the benefits of incentives reform, they will also partner with professional societies and academic departments in targeted disciplines to identify practical pathways for better integrating open science practices within the fabric of academic communities.

The project team plans to establish a strong link between open science and equity through two specific strategies. 

First, they will work with a group of funders to refine their grantmaking mechanics, ensuring that funding opportunities are accessible to researchers from diverse backgrounds and communities. 

Second, the team will provide travel support for open science practitioners and advocates to attend a “grand convening” that ORCA will host. This event will serve as a platform for dialogue and networking, and aims to ensure that emerging open science coalitions are informed by various voices and experiences, leading to more inclusive and robust outcomes.