Tutkimusdatan avoin saatavuus/en

Open access to research data

This policy component is under construction. The introduction and Objectives 1 and 2 have been updated to the new policy version approved by the Open Science and Research Steering Group on 27 May 2025. The remaining objectives and actions contain the text of the last published version of the policy in 2023.

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.

Actions required to achieve the objective:

1. Clear and transparent responsibilities and decision-making. The research organisation ensures that responsibilities and decision-making related to research data management and the production, use and development of data management services are clear and transparent.

Objective 2: Incentives and monitoring

Research organisations promote the openness, reuse and responsible management of research data by creating incentives and monitoring mechanisms.

Actions required to achieve the objective:

1. Incentives. The research organisation actively develops incentives to enable the publication and reuse of research data.
2. Indicators and monitoring. The research organisation develops indicators and monitoring for responsible data management.

Objective 3: Data management plans

Each research and development project draws up a data management plan that covers all stages of the research data life cycle.

Actions required to achieve the objective:

1. Higher education institutions offer instructions, practices and training in data management planning. The research organisation integrates the creation and updating of data management plans into its research and service processes and makes use of the information obtained from machine-readable, continuously updated plans.
2. Providing data management training. The research organisation provides data management training, support and guidance tailored to the needs of its community to students and researchers, research, development and innovation staff, teachers and thesis supervisors at all career stages.
3. Commenting theses related data management plans. The research organisation ensures that thesis supervisors evaluate and comment on data management plans as part of their supervision work.
4. Research organisations support research planning in data management. The research organisation supports research design so that the costs of data management can be anticipated.

Objective 4: Rights and obligations related to the use of research data

The rights and responsibilities related to the use of research data must be clearly agreed upon by all participants in the research.

Actions required to achieve the objective:

1. Research Organisation's Data Legal Practices. The research organisation creates clear and consistent principles and practices, such as contract templates, for agreeing on the rights and responsibilities related to data produced in research. Contractual practices support the ability of researchers to work and collaborate nationally and internationally.
2. The research organisation provides guidance on legislation. The research organisation provides guidance, training and support on legislation and licensing related to research data management.
3. The research organization provides instructions on references. The research organisation provides guidance on how to cite research data and requires citations to the research data used in research in its publication guidelines.
4. Data storage service. The research organisation ensures that its data storage services (such as data repositories, data catalogues, and data archives) provide guidance on how to cite the research data stored in them and how the terms of use are presented.

Objective 5: Documentation supports FAIR research data

Research data produced in research and development projects and its life cycle are documented so that metadata supports the verification of research data and results, and the reuse, further use, findability, interoperability and accessibility of research data in accordance with the FAIR principles.

Actions required to achieve the objective:

1. Research organisations support researchers in choosing data. The research organisation supports researchers in selecting and assessing the value of the research data to be preserved.
2. Training and support for documenta-tion of research data. The research organisation supports the documentation of research data, reproducibility of research and production of metadata by providing appropriate services, guidance and training.
3. Prepareations for the documentation costs. The research organisation supports research planning so that research projects are prepared for the resourcing of data documentation

Objective 6: Research data management solutions

The research organisation provides appropriate technical solutions and services for research data management.

Actions required to achieve the objective:

1. Supporting infrastructure and services provided by the research organization. The research organisation provides the infrastructure and services needed to support the storage, preservation, processing and sharing of research data at different stages of its lifecycle.
2. Reference architectures. The research organisation utilises relevant reference architectures, such as the Open Science and Research Reference Architecture 2024–2030 and the Data Management Reference Architecture, in developing the infrastructure and service framework described above

Objective 7: Research organisations engage in multiprofessional cooperation

Research organisations engage in multiprofessional cooperation for the development of training, skills, and required data management services.

Actions required to achieve the objective:

1. The research organisation develops skills, practices and services. The research organisation develops skills, practices and services in national and international collaboration.
2. The expert roles and job descriptions. The research organisation describes the expert roles and job descriptions needed in its organisation and creates career paths for these roles. Data management skills are recognised and acknowledged.
3. Expert training in data management. The research organisation offers expert training in data management or enables participation in such training.

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The publication in its entirety is available on the Internet free of charge and without restrictions to read, print and copy at least for non-commercial use.

FAIR principles are a set of guidelines to make research data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. This facilitates scientific discovery and access to knowledge. (Open Science and Research Coordination in Finland 2023, 34.)