Fostering Innovation Through Open Science
Connecting sectors. Testing solutions. Strengthening science.
Overview
Connecting Sectors
A cross-sector network bringing together leaders from academia, industry, philanthropy, and civil society around shared open research goals.
Testing Solutions
A space to pilot practical approaches to open research challenges with real institutional partners.
Strengthening Science
A focused effort to address challenges that prevent the full impact of open research from being realized.

The Fostering Innovation Network (FIN) is a cross-sector initiative convened by the Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA), Microsoft, and CERN to address key challenges limiting open science’s ability to deliver on its core promises: accelerating discovery, driving innovation, and advancing societal progress. Bringing together a creative and cross-cutting coalition of interest holders, FIN works to identify shared barriers and pilot practical, scalable solutions that expand the real-world impact of open science.

Why Open Matters Now
Fuel Innovation
Accelerate discovery and enable breakthroughs across all scientific disciplines.
Enable AI Breakthroughs
Provide essential data and infrastructure for AI-enabled advances in biotechnology, drug discovery, and other fields.
Catalyze Economic Growth
Drive innovation that creates new industries and opportunities.
Advance Societal Progress
Ensure science delivers broad and lasting public value while strengthening links between research and policy.
NEXT STEPS
Building the Ecosystem
ORCA's Fostering Innovation through Open Science background paper, supported by Schmidt Sciences, set the foundation for the emergence of the Fostering Innovation Network . The paper called for a cross-sector alliance to leverage the potential of open science, open source, and open data to fuel innovation, accelerate discovery, power AI breakthroughs, catalyze economic growth, and drive societal progress.
In January 2026, ORCA — together with Microsoft, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and CERN — convened leaders from academia, industry, philanthropy, and civil society in New York City to map concrete opportunities for cross-sector collaboration.
Read the workshop summary (Zenodo)

Zenodo

Fostering Innovation Through Open Science Workshop Summary

About ORCA   The Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA) is a non-profit focused on making science more engaging, accessible, and actionable. ORCA prides itself on being a “doing shop” rather than a “talking shop,” with an emphasis on tangible outcomes and meaningful impact. We have a unique ability to build inclusive, big-tent coalitions that transcend boundaries—whether geographic, disciplinary, sectoral, or career-stage, creating spaces where diverse voices converge to drive innovation and

A Steering Committee formed from that convening is now developing a pilot to demonstrate what FIN partnerships can achieve in practice. The committee has 90-day mandate to design an Open Innovation Pilot focused on unlocking one of the specific challenges identified during the workshop.
The 90-day pilot is designed as a replicable model. Once tested, the same approach can be applied to other discrete challenges identified by the network. The goal is to build an evidence base for sustained cross-sector coordination over time.

Form Steering Committee
Establish a heterogeneous, time-bounded group coordinated by ORCA, Microsoft, and CERN
Identify Challenge
Select a shared technical problem with real economic and societal stakes
Design Pilot
Establish governance, licensing principles, and secure modest co-investment
Measure Success
Track capability, reuse, and downstream investment rather than traditional metrics
FIN Pilots
FIN pilots are bounded experiments that test specific instruments in live institutional settings and document what happens.
Not every cross-sector problem is a candidate. A FIN pilot meets three criteria:
  • Does it solve a specific problem within open science and/or open source?
  • Is there shared commitment within the community for addressing the problem?
  • Does it require a cross-sector coalition to effectuate?
The first project, the Open Source Procurement Pilot, tests a model procurement framework that reduces contractual friction in open source acquisition. Carnegie Mellon University is the anchor institution; CERN is a confirmed replication site and more replication sites are in progress.

FROM WORKSHOP INSIGHTS
Foundational Elements of a Resilient Ecosystem

Technical Architecture
Distributed data and compute systems that are interoperable, resilient, and broadly accessible
Governance & Ethics
Clear frameworks to ensure data and research information is shared safely and used ethically
Workforce Capacity
Professionalized data management roles and integration of open science competencies into learning curricula across career stages
Institutional Buy-in
Sustained investment and structural support from universities, philanthropies, industry, and governments demonstrating open science as central to their missions

Cross-Sector Coalition Building
No single interest holder can effectively address these challenges alone. Progress depends on coordinated action across complementary roles.
Universities
Steward knowledge but may lack agility and technical/financial sustainability expertise.
Industry
Brings entrepreneurialism, engineering capacity, and capital but cannot set norms alone.
Philanthropy
Can catalyze experimentation but cannot operationalize systems at scale.
Government
Sets policy but relies on others for implementation and feedback.
Join the Fostering Innovation Network
The workshop demonstrated the power of bringing together diverse interest holders who don't typically interact.
We invite you to join the Fostering Innovation Network (FIN) to help translate this momentum into concrete action.
Join the Network
Engage with a cross-disciplinary network of change-makers committed to open science across the public and private sectors.
Propose a Project
Contribute your ideas, insights and expertise to steer key initiatives and develop actionable frameworks.
Share Expertise
Leverage your knowledge to help build the open science experimental platform and accelerate breakthroughs.

Get Involved Today

Fostering Innovation Network is a project of the Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA) in collaboration with CERN Open Science and Microsoft.
All published materials are released under a CC-BY 4.0 license.