FORCE11

FORCE11, or For Research Communications and e-Scholarship, is an international community of researchers, librarians, funders, publishers, and technologists focused on improving how research is communicated, accessed, preserved, and reused. The group brings together stakeholders across academia and the infrastructure sector to promote openness, interoperability, and sustainable practices in scholarly communication.

Origin and aims: FORCE11 emerged in the early 2010s from collaborations among scholars and information professionals seeking to bridge gaps in the research lifecycle. It operates as a loose network rather than a single institution, coordinating cross-disciplinary working groups and collaborative projects to develop guidelines, standards, and shared principles.

Key outputs and activities: Notable contributions include the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure (POSI), which articulate governance, sustainability, openness, and community governance for critical research platforms and services. FORCE11 also develops guidelines and recommendations through its working groups and hosts events such as the FORCE11 Scholarly Communications Institute and related meetings to foster training, discussion, and community building in research communications.

Membership and governance: FORCE11 is a volunteer-driven, global community with participation from universities, libraries, funders, publishers, and service providers. Leadership and coordination are distributed among volunteers and special-interest groups, with decision-making focused on consensus and collaboration, rather than formal hierarchy.

Impact: The FORCE11 community has influenced open science and scholarly communication discussions by providing a common language for infrastructure governance, data standards, and open practices. It serves as a platform for collaboration among actors who shape how research is produced, shared, and preserved.