This interview with Rosalie Lack, SCOSS Project Coordinator, sheds light on the vital importance of the service which SCOSS provides to the global Open Science community, and highlights some important ways in which local advocates and Open Science Communities can also contribute.
Open Science is often described in terms of open outputs—articles, data, and code—but those outputs only become truly open and usable through the shared systems that publish, connect, preserve, and provide access to them. Open infrastructure is the enabling layer that makes Open Science work in practice.
Why is open infrastructure so important?
Open Science is only as open as the infrastructure it runs on. Despite being well-managed and highly used, non-commercial open infrastructures face financial challenges. As not-for-profit organisations, they do not have access to capital investment funds available to commercial ventures. They need robust ongoing revenue models because they offer data and services for free (or at a very low cost). Also, most of these organisations lack sufficient staff resources to execute marketing campaigns to attract much-needed funding.
How does SCOSS help?
The Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS), officially formed in early 2017, is a network of influential organizations working to secure the long-term sustainability of open science infrastructure by providing a coordinated cost-sharing framework for the non-commercial services the community depends on.
SCOSS rigorously vets non-commercial open infrastructures, then brings a selected group to the community with an invitation to support them. Currently, the SCOSS Family includes 19 endorsed infrastructures spanning the research lifecycle and multiple regions. Our most recent endorsed infrastructures include Round 5 Software Heritage and RDA, and Round 6 services AJOL, Episciences, Make Data Count, and SciPost.
SCOSS is helping to shift the culture from one-time “project funding” to sustained operational support, and the impact so far is clear: by the end of 2025, more than 345 institutions had pledged support, raising over €7.5M for 19 open infrastructures. However, continued success depends on continued investment—funding open infrastructure isn’t a one-time contribution, but a long-term commitment to stability and lasting impact. Funding gaps remain, so we encourage institutions to renew or increase their support to help close the gap and sustain these essential services.
Does SCOSS have plans to increase engagement in the Arab world?
SCOSS has long been global in intent, and we’re focused on expanding support across new geographic and sectoral areas. Looking ahead, our goals with regards to the Arab world include:
- Growing awareness of SCOSS and the SCOSS Family among libraries, consortia, research offices, and funders across the region.
- Making it easy to participate by working with local institutions and (especially) library consortia, which can reduce overhead and simplify coordination.
- Building durable partnerships with key stakeholders throughout the Arab world, including research funders, national agencies, and philanthropic actors who want Open Science to remain open and community-governed.
How can our members and network get involved?
If your institution values Open Science, why not connect with SCOSS. SCOSS exists to help the community sustain what it relies on so that open scholarship remains open, resilient, and community-controlled for the long term. To learn more, contact them at: info@scoss.org. Learn who to fund here: https://scoss.org/how-it-works/current-funding-calls/.
