kazuend (Unsplash License)
We are thrilled to announce that the pilot cohort of Seeds to Systems will run September to November 2026.
As part of our organisational strategy under the same name, Seeds to Systems is a cohort-based training and mentoring programme designed for individuals and teams leading open initiatives, including research communities of practice, volunteer-run research initiatives, and research adjacent projects, such as software and data projects. It builds directly on OLS’s experience running Open Seeds and extends that support to projects at a more advanced stage of development.
The curriculum centres on organisational infrastructure for project and community sustainability: the practical knowledge, skills, and networks needed to lead a project over time, navigate the research funding landscape, and build the conditions that enable long-term impact.
Current (tentative!) curriculum outline
The pilot curriculum is still under development, and we expect it to include the following topics:
Participants will work through the curriculum as a cohort, learning from each other’s experiences and from a network of mentors and experts. The programme will run from September to November/December 2026.
Learn more about the Seeds to Systems project and opportunities to contribute in our upcoming webinar. Register here.
We are inviting members of the open research community to participate in two curriculum co-design workshops to shape the Seeds to Systems training programme:
Learn more and register here.
We are also inviting people with practical experience in leading and sustaining open research communities to contribute to the development and delivery of the curriculum. Contributions might include joining a co-design workshop, reviewing curriculum materials, or participating as a trainer or mentor during the pilot cohort. Details will be shared soon.
The pilot cohort is designed for individuals or teams who already have experience running their own open science initiatives, and who are interested in planning for long term sustainability, including, but not limited to, securing funding.
Participants from the OLS community and projects that have participated in Open Seeds are likely to be strong candidates for the pilot. We view the pilot cohort as an opportunity to shape the curriculum.
Details on how to apply to the pilot cohort will be shared in the coming months. In the meantime, you can subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates about this and other OLS activities.
Over the past year, we have been exploring the conditions that make open projects and communities sustainable over time. Moving from a focus on grant writing to grant readiness, and drawing on systems thinking to identify leverage points where targeted support can make a meaningful difference, we have been building an evidence-based understanding of what projects and communities need to sustain their work. We also had the opportunity to pilot workshop activities with the eLife Community Ambassadors, testing early ideas with a community audience. The Seeds to Systems pilot cohort is the next step in this work.