The Open Research Funders Group is a group of philanthropic organizations committed to advancing the open sharing of research outputs. Since its inception in 2016, the group has been dedicated to ensuring open access and reusability of articles, data, code, protocols, and other relevant research outputs. However, the events surrounding George Floyd's death and the subsequent protests in 2020 led the ORFG to recognize the need for active efforts to promote a fair and inclusive world.

 

To this end, the ORFG collaborated with the Health Research Alliance (HRA) to establish the Equity & Open Science Working Group in 2020. Comprising four ORFG members and seven scholars, scientists, and activists, this group is devoted to improving open research for marginalized communities. After extensive conversations, the Working Group concluded that philanthropies could have a significant impact by utilizing their grant-making abilities to advocate for a more equitable and open research environment.

 

In September 2021, the ORFG launched the Open & Equitable Model Funding Program. This program aims to create a space for research funders to pilot and implement measures collaboratively designed to promote open scholarship practices and inclusivity among participating funding programs.

 

In 2023, we also launched a Seed Award Fund to promote open scholarship participation among underrepresented communities and reduce systemic obstacles that create an unequal distribution of open scholarship resources and opportunities.

 

By working on both institutional and funding levels and among marginalized scholars, our goal is to promote a culture of open and equitable scholarship practices.