Policy component 1: Open access to research data

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THIS POLICY FOR OPEN ACCESS to Research Data and Methods supports the Declaration for Open Science and Research 2025–2030 and its overarching principle that research should be as open as possible and as closed as necessary. This policy builds on extensive national and international work and dialogue. It has been drawn up by the Finnish research community and coordinated by National Coordination for Open Science and Research (the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies).

The policy focuses on the openness of research data and methods. It views openness as an element of research quality and impact across the full life cycle of research and as an opportunity to advance global inclusivity in research. It considers research data and methods as independent research outputs, and generally encourages opening up the research process as early and widely as possible, and requests that limitations to openness should be justified. Existing frameworks, such as the FAIR principles, can be used to regulate the level of openness for research data and various types of methods.

All fields of higher education and research are covered by this policy. The diversity across fields forms challenges for translating and implementing best practices. The policy emphasises general principles of responsible management of research resources, access to appropriate services, and responsible research evaluation. These guiding principles have been formulated as specific objectives and actions for researchers, research and funding organisations, and other actors. The Open Science Coordination at the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies will monitor the implementation and further development of this policy as part of the national open science monitoring programme.

COMMITMENTS OF THE POLICY

RESEARCH DATA AND METHODS are as open as possible and as closed as necessary. The data is managed appropriately with the aim of implementing the FAIR principles. The FAIR principles are also applied to methods when appropriate. Research methods and research data are identified as independent research outputs. Unless stated otherwise, in this policy the term ‘research output’ refers to research data and methods. Other research outputs are addressed in their respective policies, Open access to scholarly publications and [Open education and educational resources https://doi.org/10.23847/tsv.1626].

INTRODUCTION

THIS POLICY FOR OPEN ACCESS to Research Data and Methods updates and replaces the two policy components originally published separately by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies in 2021–2023. The updated policy combines these components into a single, unified document. Since these policies were originally published, many of the concepts then considered new have become established among the research community. Data management, the FAIR principles and research data sharing have become more widely adopted. This development has been driven by research funders’ requirements, training provided by research organisations and researchers’ ability to adopt new practices. Despite these developments, the policies promoting openness remain valuable. For instance, unclear responsibilities can lead to a loss of openness to research data and methods. In addition, research security concerns have prompted research organisations to view regional preservation and restricted sharing of data and methods as matters of digital resilience and digital sovereignty. As societal changes can happen quickly, it is crucial to safeguard digital sovereignty and data resilience through proper handling, preservation and restricted sharing of high-value digital assets.

Openness to research data and methods strengthens research quality and impact. Openness can strengthen various aspects of research quality, including, for instance, integrity and credibility, reproducibility and verifiability and translatability of research into new uses. These objectives are challenged by cultural and technical bottlenecks as well as the continuous, iterative processual nature of methods development and application, which is often inseparable from research and innovation. Increased openness can thus support the transparency of the entire research process. Openness can also increase the impact of research on society at large as well as on research practice, including, for instance, enhanced accessibility, transparency, speed, efficiency, or new opportunities for collaboration, development and innovation. Examples of how openness can strengthen research quality and impact can be found from the recipients of the national open science awards.

The FAIR principles guide openness to research data and methods, providing a systematic framework for defining and implementing the appropriate level of openness and for assessing it as part of responsible research evaluation. The FAIR principles refer to the quality of research data and methods from the viewpoint of further use. The goal of the principles is to make research data and methods Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (see Glossary). Although the FAIR principles can be seen to articulate the general aims of openness to research data and methods, there are also other frameworks that can be helpful within specific scientific domains. In quantitative research, the exact replicability of a study or parts of it can be the target outcome of openness, whereas in qualitative research, enhancements in the transparency of documentation and argumentation may be emphasised.

Openness to research data and methods support sustainable development goals and digital resilience. Openness can remove barriers to access and promote inclusivity and equal access to knowledge by facilitating interdisciplinary research, global equality and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Openness can support novel ways of public and private sector cooperation, advancing regional innovation capability. Research organisations should view regional and national digital preservation and data sharing infrastructures and services as tools to improve digital resilience. Proper management, protection and archiving of high-value digital assets, including critical infrastructure involving environment and safety, can support digital sovereignty. When deciding on the appropriate level of openness, researchers must also consider research security aspects, including possible dual use of technology in military applications. The preservation and restricted sharing of high-value digital assets can be seen as cornerstones of data resilience and digital sovereignty.

International framework. This revised policy continues to align with different national and international guidelines and frameworks promoting openness and of research data and methods, including the aforementioned FAIR principles. In line with the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, the policy recommends that research and funding organisations, learned societies, publishers and editorial boards should adopt policies that require and advance open access to research. Finnish actors actively participate in European and international work, e.g. in the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), the Research Data Alliance (RDA), International Science Council Committee on Data (CODATA) communities and European research infrastructure work. The operating environment is further shaped by current and future EU regulation on the openness of data, e.g. the Open Data Directive and European initiatives on digital sovereignty such as the European Digital Commons Infrastructure Consortium.

This policy encourages researchers and research organisations to open up the research process—including data and methods—as early and widely as possible. Early dissemination can help researchers establish priorities and receive timely feedback to improve the work, thus increasing the overall research quality and impact. As a general rule, researchers should justify limitations to the openness of data and methods underlying published research and expert statements and not limit openness more than necessary. When defining the appropriate level of openness for their research data and methods, and the services used for their preservation, researchers should take into consideration the aspects of research security and digital sovereignty.

FREEDOM OF RESEARCH AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RESEARCHER

This policy supports the principles of open science as well as researchers’ freedom and possibilities to distribute and utilise research-based knowledge across the full life cycle of research. Researchers and research organisations are responsible for carrying out and disseminating research of the best possible quality and impact, and they have the right and freedom to choose the approaches that best serve these goals. This includes responsible management and openness of data and methods, which must be evaluated in the context of the research domain and life cycle. As an element of research quality and impact, openness is therefore compatible with the freedom of research and the intellectual and other rights of a researcher.

Responsible openness is an essential aspect of research integrity. Open research practices raise significant questions related to research integrity and legislation. These may imply restrictions, of which researchers and others working with the management of research data and methods must be aware. Whereas legislative, ethical, contractual or other restrictions and ambiguities can limit openness, good research practice justifies such limitations. Limitations to openness should not be justified merely by established traditions, and funders and research organisations should generally encourage and support the adoption of good open research practices across fields.

The Finnish legislation supports broad availability of research data and methods for commercial purposes. Open research data and methods provide new opportunities for governmental and industrial actors to benefit from research. This policy supports national recommendations for open science in collaboration with non-academic partners, including governmental and non-governmental organisations, companies, and commercialisation.

Limitations on commercial use are not compliant with the open source definition; non-commercial clauses in open licences do not qualify as open access and shall be generally avoided. Industrial collaboration, commercialisation, and other development and innovation activities may, however, also create the need and justification to limit the level of openness. Researchers are hence responsible for seeking solutions that are compatible with the overarching principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”, and research organisations are responsible for providing the necessary support and incentives for the responsible opening of research resources.

Funders and research organisations should evaluate openness according to the guidelines on responsible research evaluation based on the overall research quality and impact. Recognising the diversity of research and paying attention to variations in the type, life cycle, and role of data and methods in different disciplines are critical factors in responsible evaluation. The different roles related to the development and use of open practices at different stages of research should be recognised, and merit mechanisms can be designed to reward operators at different levels from individuals to teams, units, and entire organisations.

RISKS AND THREATS

The responsible management of research acknowledges that opening up research resources and combining proprietary and open platforms brings up juridical (e.g. contractual) questions as well as the legal protection of researchers and research subjects. The process of selecting the appropriate degree of openness should be knowledge-driven. When there are ethical, legal, or other clear and justifiable limitations that prevent the opening of data or methods, it is important to describe the resources as transparently as possible, for instance by publishing metadata or other descriptions of the research design. Access to clear definitions, guidelines and support services that take into account discipline-specific differences and economic sustainability can facilitate the openness of research. Researchers may face risks of declining funding and publishing difficulties if research data and methods cannot be opened as planned.

Certain types of research data or methods can be openly used based on established community norms. However, researchers and research organisations can remarkably increase the level of openness and clarify the reuse rights by granting explicit permissions for reuse. In some fields, this can be achieved through open licences, allowing the sharing of derivative versions of, for example, source code, software or protocols. The concept of ownership may vary across research fields, however; in some fields, sharing and reuse may be broadly allowed by community norms rather than explicit licences or permissions. Researchers may also find it challenging to define the boundary between the need for privacy protection and openness, and questions related to this topic can be beyond the expertise of an individual researcher. The FAIR principles can be used to set the balance between openness and protection of data and methods when necessary.

A Data Management Plan (DMP) supports the systematic planning, definition and management of the level of openness of data and methods starting from the early stages of the research life cycle, and it should be actively maintained and updated as necessary during research. A DMP facilitates risk assessment, and it includes accessible justifications for possible limitations to the level of openness. The research community, together with the research ethical committees, could benefit from the development of general guidelines on how the openness of data and methods can be advanced as part of responsible research and reconciled with the other aspects of research integrity, such as the need to protect research subjects or control dual use of technology, for instance.

The advancement of open research practices also relies on the available resources. The lack of resources, skills, services or infrastructures may challenge open practices. Researchers should have the necessary skills and support to apply open research practices. Research organisations must secure the availability of sufficient support, incentives, and resources for opening data and methods in a way that respects the work and equality of the researchers and facilitates efficient and collaborative knowledge creation. The implementation of responsible conduct of research and good management of research resources requires resources and economic incentives targeted towards research organisations during the entire lifecycle of research and across all levels of education. Organisations in different roles should commit to the development and maintenance of such resources, with a parallel investment in services promoting more efficient utilisation of the resources and creating savings.

STRUCTURE AND BACKGROUND OF THE POLICY

This policy has been drawn up by the Finnish research community. The progress has been the responsibility of two working groups assembled by the expert group on open data at the National Coordination for Open Science and Research (the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies). The work has been directed by the National Open Science and Research Steering Group. The policy supports the Declaration for Open Science and Research 2025–2030.

This policy on open access to research data and methods consists of strategic principles as well as more specific objectives and actions. The strategic principles describe general preconditions for the pursuit of open access to research data and methods. They formulate principles that are important for the research community and must be adhered to when implementing openness. The specific objectives listed in the policy comprise more time-bound and measurable objectives to support and advance openness. The objectives are accompanied by concrete actions that are required to achieve the objectives. The changing international environment affects the objectives and the related actions more quickly than the principles.

The relevant vocabulary differs across research fields and the terms, definitions, and translations vary greatly in legislation and different contexts. The Glossary clarifies key terminology and aims to support the overall readability and comprehensibility of this policy document.

IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING

The implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the entire Finnish research community, and the policy will come into effect gradually. The policy component on open access to research data was completed in spring 2021, and the policy component on research methods in 2023. This document constitutes a comprehensive revision of the policy, undertaken in 2026. In conjunction with this update, a decision was made to remove research infrastructures from this policy. The present policy focuses specifically on open research data and research methods. The policy will be reviewed no later than 2030.

The evaluation of the implementation of this policy should embrace the diversity across research fields while encouraging early, broad, and responsible openness and long-term availability. Research organisations should support researchers in implementing this policy and in disseminating and adopting good practices across disciplines. Research data and methods can also be considered as independent research outputs that can support the overall research quality and impact.

The monitoring of the implementation of the policy is the responsibility of the Open Science Coordination at the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. It is the Coordination’s responsibility to support and promote continuous discussion in order to reach the objectives and to keep the policy up to date. The monitoring mechanisms for the openness of research data and methods will be part of the national open science monitoring programme.

STRATEGIC PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLE 1: Research data and methods shall be managed, opened and used responsibly and appropriately.

PRINCIPLE 2: Researchers have access to infrastructures and services that enable responsible management of data and methods, and these are further developed in an economically sustainable way, taking into account the researchers’ needs.

PRINCIPLE 3: The researcher’s merits in promoting good data management, work related to research data and methods, and the appropriate opening of research data and methods are valued and support the researcher’s career.

PRINCIPLE 4: Research data and methods are managed in a way that ensures digital sovereignty and the resilience of research data. By default, data are handled and shared through services and infrastructures that comply with European Union legislation, thereby supporting independent data governance, information security and knowledge security.

This policy component has been updated to the new policy version approved by the Open Science and Research Steering Group on 27 May 2025.

This national policy component is the Finnish research community’s shared guideline for the advancement of open access to research data. The policy component does not include other research materials such as samples or research methods, which, in accordance with the policy structure, may be addressed in their own policy components. As stated in the first version of the policy in 2021, the policy component on open access to research data primarily concerns research data that has been produced or used as part of a research or development process as of 1 July 2021, and

where the researcher is working in or is affiliated with a Finnish research organisation and/or working with funding by a Finnish research funding organisation

or

where the research or development project involving the compilation or use of the research data takes place in a Finnish research organisation and/or is funded by a Finnish research funding organisation.

The objectives and actions presented in this policy do not only concern the opening of research data, but focus on responsible data management throughout the lifecycle of research data. The policy covers all types of research data, including personal or confidential data that cannot be shared openly.

Research organisations plan the overall management of research data according to their own starting points and implement solutions either independently or in collaboration with other actors.

Objective 1: Strategic leadership and decision-making

Research organisations have organised, structured and assigned responsibility for the strategic management of research data management and decision-making at organisational level.