Schritte auf dem Weg zu Open-Science- und Forschungsdatenmanagement-Guidelines am Beispiel des Max-Planck-Instituts für Bildungsforschung (MPIB)

Abstract

Numerous institutions now have their own open science and/or research data (management) policies. In the non-university sector, the policy of the Helmholtz Association stands out. For the Max Planck Society (MPG), with its 84 institutes, some of which are very heterogeneous, there can be no “one-size-fits-all” solution in this regard.
The Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB) therefore wants to create a regulated framework for good open science practices and adequate research data management (RDM) by establishing two corresponding policies. The practical report, based on a presentation at BiblioCon 2025, is intended to provide an exemplary insight into a possible approach to creating an open science or RDM policy.
Since June 2024, members of an internal working group on research data management and open science have been working on the creation of cross-institutional policies with the aim of adopting them in fall 2025. 

A particular challenge for policy development arose from the diversity of research disciplines represented at the MPIB and the research methods used by them. Conceptually and practically, this challenge was met with an “inclusive” and multi-stage approach to policy development that involved a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., researchers with different disciplinary backgrounds, infrastructure staff). GitLab was used to support this process, making the text work as transparent as possible and also simplifying the subsequent further development of the policies. The report describes possible steps on the way to developing  policies, including lessons learned, which are intended to encourage to initiate similiar projects.