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.
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.
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.
Fostering Innovation Through Open Science