Open Science

Data Policies and Principles​

The Belmont Forum recognizes that open and effective data and article sharing are essential to addressing the challenges of global environmental change. Building upon the 2015 Open Data Policy and Community Strategy and Implementation Plan (CSIP), the Belmont Forum adopted the updated Open Data and Article Sharing Policies and Principles in November 2026. This updated policy aims to facilitate innovation, improve informed decision-making, and foster scientific collaboration by widening access to data and articles, promoting their long-term preservation, and encouraging data literacy and best practices. The Belmont Forum advocates for an integrated approach to its research programs, emphasizing adherence to FAIR and CARE principles, and recommends comprehensive data management planning. The ultimate goal is to establish a global, interoperable, and accessible digital infrastructure that advances transdisciplinary science and benefits society.

A dark, underwater scene showing a large cavern or crevice with a rope extending downwards into the depths.

Key Data Principles

The Belmont Forum believes that scientific data should be:

FAIR-Aligned
CARE-Compliant & Sovereign
Co-Developed

Open by Default

Accessible & Rights-Retained
FAIR-Aligned
Research data must be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable, supported by rich metadata, persistent identifiers (e.g., DOIs), and machine-readable formats.
Research involving Indigenous, local, afro-descendent, and LGBTI communities must apply CARE principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) and respect data sovereignty, including rights to repatriation.
Projects must utilize Data and Digital Outputs Management Plans (DDOMPs) co-developed throughout the data lifecycle with relevant community partners for community-engaged research.
Data should be accessible via trustworthy repositories with permissive open licenses (e.g., CC0 or CC BY 4.0) to facilitate broad reuse, except where specific legal or privacy restrictions apply.

To maximize impact, the Forum recommends Open Access publishing; authors should retain rights for immediate readership via CC BY 4.0 and utilize the Belmont Forum Zenodo community for sharing Author Accepted Manuscripts when necessary.

BF DEIA

Belmont Forum DEIA Statement

The Belmont Forum’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Statement establishes a formal commitment to embedding these principles across all global environmental change research activities.

 

This document outlines four core objectives, including mainstreaming DEIA in the Belmont Forum activities and reducing biases in project selection, to ensure equitable participation and enhance the rigor and impact of transdisciplinary science.

 

By championing DEIA, the Belmont Forum fosters an open, fair, and accessible research environment, aligning with the Open Science principle of broadening participation and leveraging multiple ways of knowing for more relevant and robust results.

The Belmont Forum and its members are committed to promoting and applying these principles, reinforcing scientific integrity, and fostering global innovation through better use of research data.


 

Several projects funded by the Belmont Forum have made their data sets available as open access, in line with the Belmont Forum Data Policies and Principles. Researchers are encouraged to use these data sets to enhance scientific collaboration and advance the goals of the Belmont Challenge.



 

To view the Belmont Forum Data Set Catalog, click here. For more details or to get involved, please contact the Secretariat at info@belmontforum.org.