Sunil Ray (Unsplash License)
OLS’s Values to Guide All Areas of OLS’s Work
As part of the next strategic phase, the OLS has revised and established the following values. These values were identified through involvement from the OLS team, the Governance Advisory Committee and the community members between 2023 and 2025.
Below, we describe each of the values in two important contexts where our values will be operationalised:
Community-wide: OLS’s values are operationalised in this context through projects and initiatives designed to engage community members both with OLS and with each other. Examples of these include the Open Seeds and Nebula training and mentoring programmes, Open Research projects, and the OLS incubator (fiscal hosting) initiative. Moreover, our values should guide the development and dissemination of OLS resources, the planning of events, and the formation of partnerships.
Work Process Example: OLS’s values are operationalised in this context through internal organisational processes, organisational development, and decision-making, ensuring that our principles guide how we operate and collaborate internally.
Community-wide: OLS champions transparency through accessible resources, clear processes, and a commitment to ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary.’ We strive to democratise knowledge and empower participation by making our work visible and understandable.
Work process: We foster a culture of reflection by regularly asking, ‘How can we increase the openness of our work while maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information and without compromising the confidentiality of sensitive information?’ This proactive approach drives continuous improvement and reinforces our commitment to open principles and bringing openness to new communities.
Community-wide: OLS cultivates a collaborative ecosystem where knowledge is co-created and shared openly, projects are designed for collaboration, and diverse perspectives are valued. We believe that community collaboration drives innovation.
Work process: We build safe communication spaces enabling open discussion, constructive feedback, and proper recognition for contributions. OLS processes and documentation are transparent, and we welcome feedback in an active way. We support OLS team members to have autonomy in their work while ensuring they don’t work in isolation.
Community-wide: OLS is committed to responsible research practices, scientific integrity, transparent communication, and accountability.
Work process: We ensure rigour in our research, training, and services through evidence-based, transparent methodologies and a commitment to ethical decision-making.
Community-wide: OLS is a dynamic learning community where continuous growth and knowledge exchange are celebrated. We provide opportunities for skills development, peer learning, and mentorship for community members to progress their work and community initiatives in open science.
Work process: We invest in the continuous professional development of our team members, providing opportunities for all who engage with our work as paid staff or volunteers for skill enhancement and fostering a culture of lifelong learning. We make use of community feedback to enrich our decision-making in line with continuous improvement and trust our team to accept newer responsibilities when opportunities arise.
Community-wide: We build safe spaces and mutual trust within our organisation. OLS actively creates an inclusive and equitable community where diverse voices are amplified, and people feel welcome and valued, regardless of background, identity, or expertise.
Work process: We implement inclusive practices in all our organisational activities, ensuring equitable access to resources, opportunities, and support. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility principles are at the core of our work, and we make sure to give space to all opinions, regardless of whether they come from paid staff or volunteer roles.
Community-wide: OLS fosters a supportive and compassionate community, where we build strong relationships through respect and kindness towards all members.
Work process: We cultivate a culture of kindness and respect within and outside our organisation, ensuring that all members engaging with OLS’s projects in paid and volunteer capacities feel valued and supported.
Global Perspective
Given OLS’s international reach, feedback on our values can be given by community members anytime to ensure they can be interpreted as intended by different community members in a culturally sensitive manner.
Continual evaluation
Values and their operationalisation are subjective and change with time. With recommendations and involvement from our Governance Committee and community, the OLS team will therefore create a space for continual evaluation of its values and how they are being put into practice.
Last updates on 17 July 2025.