Leveraging Data Communities to Advance Open Science: Findings from an Incubation Workshop Series

Several recent studies have indicated that large numbers of researchers in many STEM fields now accept the value of openly sharing research data. Yet, the actual practice of sharing data—especially in forms that comply with FAIR principles—remains a challenge for many researchers to integrate into their workflows and prioritize among the demands on their time. However, sustained funding from federal agencies in the United States and important initiatives in other countries are creating a growing infrastructure for open sharing of research data. In the US context, the most visible fruits of these efforts are the decentralized network of repositories that have become available to researchers in many fields and are now a vital infrastructure for data sharing across many fields.