Collaboration is an integral part of open source and open science ecosystems. COS partners with a range of nonprofit, governmental, and commercial entities on projects that advance our mission to increase the transparency and reproducibility of scientific research. 1/

COS is seen by some as a leader in open science, and we have an obligation to provide our services equitably, with integrity, and without partisan or ideological bias. Simultaneously, COS is an advocate for rigor and evidence-based practice and decision-making. 2/

We receive partnership requests from organizations that have particular business models, conflicts of interests, or ideologies that might risk influencing scientific credibility but who nonetheless are major stakeholders in the scientific community. 3/

Avoiding collaboration would undermine our mission of improving the entire process of scientific research. However, indiscriminate, unprincipled collaboration could undermine our mission by, for example, selecting partners based on revenue potential and not mission-alignment. 4/

The goal of defining a Partnership Framework is to be transparent about how we make decisions about partnerships, so that OSF users, staff, funders, and the broader scientific community can know how we approach this element of our business. 5/

This framework is distinct from COS’s business plan. This is specifically about the risks and ethical principles we use to inform decisions about:
* whether to accept speaking invitations, interview inquiries, or guest posts on behalf of COS
* whether to accept donations
6/

*whether to enter grant, contractual, or consulting agreements
*whether to collaborate on technical development and maintenance
*whether to actively develop or maintain connections between services
*whether to accept a group as a customer for one of COS’s products or services 7/

The draft Partnership Framework is now publicly available for community comment prior to official adoption. Please let us know if there are issues that we missed or components that need clarification or further consideration.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zaof4-nDOSnG7atkCDEu8tm6hyYM-cF8KH2tGP3wC28/edit

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