Vision & Mission

We model open science (OS) excellence by demonstrating transparency throughout the research lifecycle.  All OS sponsored projects managed by the Open Science Research Administration Division (OS-RAD) will be registered through third party services (OSF, DMPTool, arXiv, etc.) and regular project reports will be published online through the IGDORE USA research portal.  Research data will be registered on the blockchain at the time of collection through our own Artifact Registry, although data sharing and access will be controlled by the terms of the Data Management Policy set out before the project begins.

Our approach to guiding researchers through a rigorous OS protocol builds expertise within our community of Scholars and improves the quality of data across the entire research ecosystem.  As the grant hosting organization, we are able to ensure compliance and enforce ethical practices through our innovative oversight mechanism.  Our commitment to ethical-by-design project management increases competitiveness by showcasing outputs during the study process as an intentional design element.  This approach promotes the value of negative findings and prevents dark data practices, which undermine the scientific enterprise in the long term and results in an untold loss of knowledge, time, and research funding in pursuit of futile replication.

We guarantee excellence and build trust by working closely to support our Scholars through dedicated project management.  We provide a comprehensive set of self-help tools for sovereign scientists to learn and better understand the OS lifecycle, and then monitor sponsored projects through close-out and beyond.  We employ a rigorous project management system that quickly identifies projects that begin to veer out of compliance with sponsor or OS-RAD policy, and immediately remedy the issue(s) with direct intervention.  That intervention begins with a consultation and may result in additional funding, dedicated project management, new hires, training, conflict resolution, legal advice, IRB review, or other response that will lead to the successful conclusion of the project.

IGDORE USA is an open science (OS) research institute and sovereign science merit society.  Scholars who conduct their research through the operational arm of IGDORE USA are contractually obliged to comply with predefined OS policies and practices.  Scholars who speak and act on their own behalf as members of the social arm of IGDORE USA are free to engage as they please on the IGDORE Global chat platform.  We trust our Scholars to behave in a manner fitting their status, and we reserve the right to refuse access at any time without appeal in the unlikely event that a Scholar is deemed unfit for public discourse.

Open science ethics are based in the principles of transparency and access.  With the right tools, mechanisms, and guidance, Scholars can protect their original work and their professional integrity by practicing good ethical hygiene.

Transparency involves showing the process of your work, while you are engaged in the work.  The goal of transparency is to eliminate fraud and reduce bias--both of which can result from flawed, but unintentionally malicious decision making throughout the research lifecycle.  Many early career investigators and researchers on highly complex projects can fall into the trap of making a determination about data, instruments, findings, or methods that was innocent (or a bit thoughtless) in the moment, but looks spurious in the hotbed of peer review when all is said and done.  

Access involves the intentional act of sharing data and findings.  The goal of access is to open the scientific enterprise to the whole of humankind, regardless of education and location.  A good access-by-design project thoughtfully plans for end-user needs.  For example, by collecting data in a useable format, marking it up with rich metadata, depositing it in a deep-storage open access (OA) data center, and and budgeting for long-term stewardship during the proposal process.  Likewise, a thoughtful access plan for findings includes hosting a project website with contact information during the activity, and publishing results on an OA platform--which will also require budgetary planning.

Investigators commit to IGDORE USA open science practices, while IGDORE USA commits to supporting its open science practitioners.

Investigator Commitments

All Open Science Research Administration Division (OS-RAD) work is pre-registered.  Sponsored projects are required to host a website that will include a viable point of contact, most or all of the approved proposal, award details, and regularly posted technical reports.  Research data is registered on the blockchain.

IGDORE USA Commitments

We work closely with investigators as needed to develop and submit their proposal; connect them with talent, facilities, equipment, and sponsors; monitor the project for compliance with sponsor requirements and intervene as necessary; and provide post-closeout services.  We determine the need for a dedicated project manager or consultant during budget development and review, to ensure that the PI and project team are able to focus on the work, and not on the administration.

By demonstrating our ethics, we aim to model a more rigorous approach to open science as a practice in the lab and in the field, complete with methods, metrics, standards, pedagogies, and oversight mechanisms.