Open science
The RCF requires that RCF-funded research complies with the guidelines on open access to research outputs and, with regard to research data, on responsible data management. Applicants must describe in the research plan how the project will comply with these guidelines. If the description is missing, the application will not be considered (processed). Furthermore, the implementation of open science is one of the criteria used in the review of applications.
We require that the research data produced by RCF-funded projects are made openly available and managed responsibly.
The degrees of data openness may justifiably vary, ranging from fully open to strictly confidential. In addition, we require open access to the metadata of scientific publications and research data. We also require open access to research methods whenever possible.
The principles of open science must be pursued with due attention to good scientific practice and law.
Promoting open science is also one of the scientific policy factors we have identified as a review target. When reviewing applications, the reviewers take into account the manner in which the publication plan presented in the application is implemented in support of open access as well as the section on the management and accessibility of research data.
Learn more: Open science
Publication plan as part of the research plan and open access
We require that RCF-funded projects commit to ensuring immediate open access to their peer-reviewed articles in accordance with Plan S principles and Finland’s national policy for open access to scholarly publications. Peer-reviewed scientific articles shall be published under a global licence that guarantees immediate access free of charge.
Open access can be implemented by publishing in open access journals or platforms, by self-archiving, or by publishing in a journal that has or whose publisher has committed to promoting open access following Plan S.
Learn more: Open access to scientific publications
In the research plan, the applicant is requested to include a publication plan describing how the open access requirement of the Research Council of Finland will be met. This particularly applies to peer-reviewed articles, but we also recommend open access for other types of publications.
The costs of making peer-reviewed articles immediately available are included in the overheads of the sites of research. These costs must therefore be taken into account when the site of research calculates the overheads percentage, and the researcher does not need to take care of them as part of their research costs. Justified layout and editing costs related to the preparation of scientific publications may be financed as research costs for the research project.
The RCF recommends compliance with any rights retention policies research organisations may have.
Open access to research data
We require that principal investigators of RCF-funded projects be responsible for the responsible management and open access of research data. Research data must be made freely available as soon as possible after the research results have been published. Sites of research must therefore provide researchers with the necessary guidance and ensure that they have access to suitable storage infrastructure. Research data shall be managed and made available following the FAIR principles (F = findable, A = accessible, I = interoperable and R = reusable).
Learn more: Data management and openness
The application must include a brief description of data management and how future reuse of the data will be enabled. Funded projects are also requested to submit a separate data management plan before the applicant and the site of research can confirm receipt of funding.
The data shall be made open access via a national or international archive or storage service that is important for the research organisation or discipline in question. The research project concerned and the publisher of the data must ensure that publishing the data will not be in breach of the Finnish Act on the Openness of Government Activities, the Finnish Data Protection Act or the Finnish Copyright Act. Furthermore, data that endangers research security shall not be published. When making data openly available, the parties involved must also consider licensing issues. If the research data cannot be made openly available, the metadata must be stored in a Finnish or international data finder.
Further instructions: Data management plan
The costs associated with storing and sharing research data and material are regarded as overheads for the project’s host organisation, but they may also be legitimately accepted as research costs to be covered with RCF research funding. If a project is focused, for instance, on the processing of large amounts of data, or if the processing of the project’s data requires exceptionally much work or time, the researcher may apply for funding for salary costs related to the data processing. In this case, a researcher whose working hours are spent on data management and processing may be hired to the project. This may be taken into account in the direct research costs. This exceptional need must be mentioned when justifying the research costs.
Openness of research methods
We require open access to research methods where possible. Enabling open access to research methods depends not only on the method itself but also on the practices of the discipline in question. However, reliably implemented open access to methods can be taken into account in the review as a factor that improves the quality of the application.
