Over the years, we have worked with major stakeholders in scientific research, including universities, funders of research, and government agencies, to identify three critical areas where improvements in sharing and reuse of scientific knowledge can lead to greater efficiency and impact: sharing of basic biological research materials, access to the scientific literature, and data sharing. In each of these areas, we have not only studied the problems facing scientists and funders but we have also built prototypes of law, technology, and policy that model openness and reduce barriers to research efficiency, productivity, and impact.
Here you will find a wealth of resources, including our new Research Funding Addendum, a document we welcome your feedback on. Included as well, are background documents on Science Commons, details on our individual projects, and an archive of our quarterly funder newsletter.
But first, we invite you to view a short video on Science Commons by Jesse Dylan (director of “Yes We Can” video with will.i.am):
For additional information, please contact Kaitlin Thaney, Project Manager of Science Commons, at kaitlin@creativecommons.org.
Science Commons: Making the Web Work for Science
This document serves as an introduction to our work at Science Commons and our partnerships. For further details on our history and organizational structure, click here.
*NEW* Research Funder Addendum: Access to Research Products
This Addendum brings together many of the standards, policy recommendations, best practices, and models of scientific collaboration identified by Science Commons and puts them into a form that can be implemented as part of any research grant agreement. We are at an early stage in this effort, and we are interested in your ideas and feedback and invite your participation. To be a part of this process, please email science@creativecommons.org
Funder Dispatches
To see our archive of quarterly updates sent via e-mail to members of our funding community, click here. If you would like to be added to the distribution list or learn more, email kaitlin@creativecommons.org.
Our Projects
Science Commons works in three broad areas to clear the legal and technical barriers to research:
- Scholar’s Copyright Project – Opening and marking research and data for legal reuse (more details)
- Biological Materials Transfer Project — Facilitating the transfer of physical materials for verifying and extending research (more details)
- The NeuroCommons and Health Commons– Integrating/connecting research, data, materials and services from disparate sources, in an open source knowledge management system (more details)
Project Videos
We are in the process of creating short, introductory videos for each of our projects, narrated by John Wilbanks, Vice President of Science for Creative Commons. Check back for more.
