Open Science Movement 2026: Global Trends in Data Sharing

Open science has evolved from a scholarly ideal into a global, data-driven ecosystem that touches funding, publishing, infrastructure, and the day-to-day practices of researchers. As we near the midpoint of 2026, the open science movement 2026 is no longer a niche aspiration; it is a structured framework supported by international policy, large-scale data sharing, and expanding open infrastructures. This article assembles more than 20 up-to-date statistics from credible sources to illuminate what is changing, where gaps remain, and what these shifts mean for researchers, funders, institutions, and industry. The data are drawn from UNESCO’s ongoing global monitoring of open science, the Open Science Indicators framework developed by PLOS and DataSeer, the European and international open science programs, and recent surveys of researcher practice and attitude. The aim is to provide a rigorous, data-backed portrait of a movement that now underpins how science is funded, conducted, shared, and evaluated. In this opening, we spotlight the most surprising stat and explain why these numbers matter for policy, practice, and market dynamics within the open science movement 2026. The most surprising stat is how quickly open data practices have become ingrained in research workflows even while recognition and reward systems lag behind; for example, across major OSI datasets, data sharing is widespread in some domains and still nascent in others, illustrating both progress and enduring friction. This paradox matters because it highlights where funders, institutions, and researchers need to invest in workflows, credit, and infrastructure to sustain momentum. Key data sources include UNESCO’s Open Science Outlook and national monitoring reports, PLOS’s Open Science Indicators, OpenAIRE’s graph and year-in-review, and industry-led open-data surveys. (unesco.org)

Global policy momentum and monitoring progress

The policy dimension of the open science movement 2026 shows sustained global momentum, with governments and intergovernmental bodies actively shaping open science roadmaps and monitoring systems.

1) National reporting coverage

As of June 2025, UNESCO reports that 77 countries had submitted national reports assessing progress on open science. This milestone underpins the first global monitoring cycle and signals broad engagement with open-science reforms across diverse governance contexts. What this means: more countries are publicly documenting where they stand on open science, enabling cross-country comparisons and learning. Source: UNESCO Open Science monitoring update (June 2025). (unesco.org)

2) Global governance and monitoring framework

UNESCO notes the launch of the Principles for Open Science Monitoring and the ongoing work to feed findings into the Global Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Instruments (GO-SPIN) and related hubs. This framework provides a formal mechanism for translating policy into practice, funding, and evaluation metrics across regions. Source: UNESCO monitoring article. (unesco.org)

3) Open science as a global norm

UNESCO emphasizes that 194 countries have engagement around the UNESCO Open Science Recommendation, underscoring a broad, representative push to embed open-science norms into national science systems. This broad adoption matters because it increases the likelihood that shared standards, data infrastructures, and openness incentives scale beyond pilot programs. Source: UNESCO Open Science page. (unesco.org)

4) Early-stage global reporting framework

In 2025, UNESCO framed a transition to global open science monitoring as a core priority, signaling that the next major milestone will be the World Open Science Outlook Vol. 2 to be published in 2026. This kind of forward guidance helps researchers and funders anticipate policy changes and data requirements. Source: UNESCO monitoring conference recap (July 2025) and Outlook preview. (unesco.org)

5) Open science and equity in policy

UNESCO’s outlook articles emphasize that open science is not a uniform process; adoption depends on regional capacity, funding, and infrastructural readiness. The 2023 Open Science Outlook highlighted uneven progress and persistent gaps, which remain central to ongoing global policy discussions in 2025–2026. Source: UNESCO Open science outlook article (2023, updated 2024). (unesco.org)

Patterns and implications

• The policy landscape is maturing: more national reports, more formal monitoring, and a clearer path to aligning incentives with open practices.
• However, policy success hinges on implementing infrastructure and credit systems that reward openness, not just mandating it.

Open access and publishing in a data-sharing era

Open access and transparent publishing remain central to the open science movement 2026, but the landscape is nuanced: mandates, real-world practice, and the economics of publishing continue to evolve.

6) Plan S OA penetration in transformative journals

A 2023–2024 evaluation of Plan S-compliant journals shows open-access penetration in ACM’s Transformative Journals rising from 9% in 2020 to 39% in 2023, evidencing significant progress toward fulsome OA publication through funder-driven reforms. This trend illustrates how major funders’ mandates can influence publisher behavior and the overall share of OA content in the scholarly ecosystem. Source: ACM Plan S compliance report for 2023. (authors.acm.org)

7) Open science mandates in Horizon Europe

Open science is a mandatory element under Horizon Europe guidelines, with protections for open access to publications and data via Open Research Europe. This policy environment supports immediate, free access by default and reinforces the expectation that research outputs be openly shareable. Source: European Commission Horizon Europe open science guidance. (rea.ec.europa.eu)

8) OECD’s national open science plans

The OECD’s 2025 overview of national plans for open science highlights mandates to deposit publicly funded publications in open-access repositories and encourage FAIR data practices, including infrastructure like HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne) for publications. This signals a global shift toward "open by default" in both publishing and data management. Source: OECD second national plan for open science (April 15, 2025). (oecd.org)

9) Data becoming freely accessible in major economies

OECD data and analyses have increasingly become openly accessible, with licensing and online portals making data and publications more reusable. The underlying trend is a broad shift toward openness in government-funded science, which cascades into research practices across academia and industry. Source: ISSN newsletter reporting OECD’s open data licensing and access (July 2024). (issn.org)

10) Data infrastructures powering OA publishing

The European Commission’s EOSC (European Open Science Cloud) and related efforts push for federated access to research outputs, enabling researchers to store, share, and reuse data across borders. This kind of infrastructure is essential for scalable OA and for enabling large-scale data reuse. Source: EOSC and European Commission pages. (eosc.lt)

11) Global OA attitudes among researchers

A broad sentiment across researchers remains favorable toward OA and open data, with high levels of support for open science practices, even as practical challenges persist. This is reflected in multiple surveys, including the 2025 State of Open Data reports from Springer Nature and related studies noting sustained support for OA and data sharing. Source: Springer Nature 2025 State of Open Data; Nature Communications social sciences survey (2023). (communities.springernature.com)

12) What these attitudes translate into in practice

A 2025 state-of-open-data-type survey highlights that while support remains robust (88% OA, 81% open data), researchers also report concerns about recognition and credit for data sharing (about 69% feel under-credited). This signals a key friction: policy momentum may outpace reward systems, potentially slowing lasting behavioral change unless institutions realign incentives. Source: Springer Nature State of Open Data 2025 report and related commentary. (communities.springernature.com)

13) Open data and citations

Analyses of open science practices show that making data openly available or posting preprints is associated with measurable citation advantages in some disciplines, though effects vary by field and method. For example, a French study focusing on Open Science indicators finds preprint posting linked to a sizable citation bump (~19%), with data sharing and other OSI components also showing positive effects in some contexts. Source: arXiv preprint on OSI and citations (2025) and related French monitor analysis. (arxiv.org)

14) Preprint platforms and global adoption

Preprint ecosystems—especially bioRxiv and medRxiv—continue to grow and aggregate large global authorships, with hundreds of thousands of new preprints yearly and millions of page views and downloads monthly. The 2025 year-in-review reports 389k+ total preprints, with tens of thousands added in the year, reflecting sustained growth and adoption worldwide. Source: OpenRxiv 2025 year-in-review. (openrxiv.org)

15) The path from preprints to formal publication

The preprint-to-journal pipeline remains efficient for many fields, with a large share of preprints eventually landing in peer-reviewed venues; OpenRxiv notes that roughly 80% of manuscripts posted as preprints are later published, typically within about 250 days after posting. This illustrates how preprints continue to serve as rapid dissemination channels without sacrificing eventual formal publication. Source: OpenRxiv 2025 year-in-review. (openrxiv.org)

The age of Open Science Indicators: measured behaviors in practice

Open Science Indicators (OSI) provide a standardized way to quantify concrete open-science behaviors in published work. The PLOS OSI framework, developed with DataSeer, highlights three core behaviors—data sharing, code sharing, and preprint use.

16) Open Science Indicators in 2024 (PLOS, OSI)

• Data shared in a repository: 31% of PLOS articles in 2024, versus 23% in comparators. What this means: a clear lead for PLOS’s own OA research ecosystem and a signal that structured repositories are increasingly integrated into article outputs. Source: PLOS OSI metrics page (2024 OSI data). (plos.org)

• Code shared: 42% of PLOS 2024 articles, compared with 25% at comparator journals. Implication: researchers publishing in PLOS venues are more likely to share code, enhancing reproducibility and reusability. Source: PLOS OSI metrics page. (plos.org)

• Preprint sharing: 23% of PLOS 2024 articles had a detected preprint version, versus 27% for comparators. Implication: PLOS articles show a smaller preprint footprint relative to some comparators, hinting at field- and venue-specific dissemination practices. Source: PLOS OSI metrics page. (plos.org)

17) Context and interpretation of OSI data

The OSI framework helps researchers and funders see where the system is moving: data and code sharing are gaining traction, while preprint adoption remains uneven across journals and disciplines. The OSI dataset covers approximately 122,000 articles from PLOS (2018–2024) with comparators and is regularly updated, enabling trend analyses and benchmarking. The latest 2024 OSI results show improvements in data and code sharing but a continuing need to align incentives for preprint usage. Source: PLOS OSI program notes and OSI data description. (plos.org)

18) OSI data and practice: six-year view

A retrospective synthesis published by PLOS in March 2024 highlights that data-sharing rates hit a high in 2023 and that code-sharing rose, while preprint adoption plateaued post-pandemic. This long view helps contextualize 2024–2025 OSI updates and supports forecasting for 2026. Source: PLOS six-year OSI blog post. (theplosblog.plos.org)

The infrastructure backbone: repositories, data, and networks

The infrastructure that underpins open science—repositories, data portals, and federated clouds—continues to expand, connect, and mature, enabling more researchers to find, share, and reuse outputs.

19) OpenAIRE Graph Year in Review 2025 highlights

• In 2025, 108 new data sources were registered, achieving 2,064 endpoints in aggregated data and software repositories and related aggregators. This expands the reach and interoperability of open data assets across Europe and beyond. Source: OpenAIRE Graph Year in Review 2025. (openaire.eu)

• The graph reports roughly 212 million publications, 93 million datasets, 803 thousand software items, and 33 million other products in its index. These volumes indicate the scale of published and shareable outputs that researchers can discover and reuse through open infrastructure. Source: OpenAIRE Year in Review 2025. (openaire.eu)

• The graph’s citation and linkage index (ScholXplorer) shows trillions of potential connections between publications and datasets, highlighting the increasing visibility and traceability of research objects across disciplines. Source: OpenAIRE Year in Review 2025. (openaire.eu)

20) EOSC and federated open science

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) concept envisions a federated, interoperable environment that provides seamless access to data, software, and services across Europe, supporting 1.8 million researchers and 70 million professionals. This scale matters because it signals a global capability to perform data-intensive science at scale, with open data as a built-in default capability. Source: EOSC descriptions and EU node materials. (eosc.lt)

21) Directorying and repository directories

COAR’s internationally-activated repository directory, launched in 2025, provides a single, community-maintained directory of repositories and helps researchers locate appropriate archives and data sources across institutions and countries. The directory’s development (including national deployments such as Hungary’s record) demonstrates ongoing maturation of the global repository ecosystem. Source: COAR IRD launch coverage. (researchdata.hu)

Stat pack: what these numbers collectively imply

• The infrastructure and policy pieces are converging. The combination of global monitoring (UNESCO), national plans (OECD), federated infrastructure (EOSC), and robust OSIs (PLOS) creates a feedback loop that should accelerate both the adoption of open practices and the visibility of their benefits.
• Researchers are broadly receptive to openness, but the practical realities of credit, workflow integration, and data curation remain a central hurdle. The 2025 state-of-open-data research indicates high enthusiasm but continuing concerns about career recognition and reward structures. Source: Springer Nature 2025 State of Open Data; related policy commentary. (communities.springernature.com)

Patterns section: what the data reveal, trends, surprises, and implications

• Policy momentum is translating into practice, but the pace varies by discipline and geography. Global monitoring and national action are intensifying, yet the texture of implementation—what gets shared, how quickly, and under what licenses—varies widely. UNESCO’s global monitoring signals this uneven but accelerating trend. Source: UNESCO update and Outlook materials. (unesco.org)

• The publishing ecosystem is adapting to openness, with strong OA support among researchers and a growing portfolio of OA-compliant journals and repositories. Yet there remains a significant portion of researchers who feel under-credited for sharing data, which could hinder the long-term sustainability of data-sharing practices. Source: Springer Nature State of Open Data 2025; Nature Communications social science survey. (communities.springernature.com)

• Open data and OSI adoption demonstrate tangible gains in reproducibility and reusability of research outputs. The OSI metrics from PLOS show meaningful improvements in data and code sharing, even as preprint adoption modestly trails in some journals. This suggests a nuanced but positive trend toward more transparent research workflows. Source: PLOS OSI metrics (2024 data). (plos.org)

• Preprints remain a pillar of rapid dissemination, but with variability across fields and venues. The OpenRxiv 2025 year-in-review paints a picture of sustained growth and engagement with preprint infrastructure, while still reflecting disciplinary differences in preprint uptake and eventual publication trajectories. Source: OpenRxiv 2025 year-in-review. (openrxiv.org)

• The European open-science backbone—the EOSC—has reached substantial scale, enabling federated access to data assets, software, and services for millions of researchers. This infrastructure is critical for achieving machine-actionable openness and enabling data-intensive research at scale. Source: EOSC materials and EU Node updates. (eosc.lt)

• Globally, the move toward open science is becoming a governance, rather than a pilot, issue. The combination of UNESCO’s governance framework plus OECD and national planning signals the transition from policy intent to policy execution and impact measurement. Source: UNESCO open-science governance and OECD planning. (unesco.org)

• The data show that while attitudes toward open science are broadly positive, the practicalities of data management, repository use, and proper credit systems lag behind, creating a bottleneck in broad-scale adoption. This is a key lesson for funders and institutions aiming to scale open-science practices. Source: Springer Nature State of Open Data 2025; Nature Communications social sciences survey. (communities.springernature.com)

• Market and industry consequences: as more researchers adopt open practices and as funders require open data and OA, the demand for interoperable repositories, data curation support, and governance tools increases. The 2025-2026 landscape suggests more investments in data stewardship and infrastructure will be essential to sustain momentum. OpenAIRE’s 2025 Year in Review and EOSC-related materials reinforce this trajectory. Source: OpenAIRE Graph Year in Review 2025; EOSC materials. (openaire.eu)

• Regional variability remains a recurring pattern: some regions show stronger OA adoption and data-sharing norms, while others face structural barriers. UNESCO’s global outlook highlights this regional variance as a core characteristic of the opening of science, not a monolithic transformation. Source: UNESCO Open Science Outlook and regional monitoring materials. (unesco.org)

• The evidence base for citations and impact of open practices is growing but nuanced. Multiple studies find positive associations between preprints, data sharing, and citation metrics, but the magnitude and reliability of effects differ by discipline and methodology. This points to a need for more robust, cross-disciplinary governance and evaluation frameworks. Sources: arXiv-based analyses on OSI and citations; French Open Science Monitor analyses. (arxiv.org)

• The data also reveal a broader, constructive tension: openness is widely supported, but researchers seek clearer pathways for credit, recognition, and career incentives. The 2025 State of Open Data and related commentary emphasize the need to align metadata standards, reward structures, and data-sharing workflows with practical research life cycles. Source: Springer Nature 2025 State of Open Data; related commentary. (communities.springernature.com)

• In short, the open science movement 2026 is characterized by growing global governance, expanding infrastructure, rising (but uneven) data sharing and preregistration practices, and an emerging, evidence-driven debate about incentives and credit. The convergence of policy, infrastructure, and practice suggests a trajectory toward more transparent, collaborative, and reproducible science—provided that reward systems and technical workflows keep pace with the ambition.

Closing: what readers should take away and how to act on these insights

The data paint a clear, actionable picture for researchers, funders, and institutions aiming to navigate and shape the open science movement 2026. First, policy momentum matters, but it must be matched by practical support: career incentives, recognition for data sharing, and robust data-management services. The 2025 state-of-open-data findings illustrate that researchers prize openness but still feel under-credited for sharing data; solving this credit gap should be a central design priority for universities, funders, and publishers. Source: Springer Nature 2025 State of Open Data; related commentary. (communities.springernature.com)

Second, infrastructure investments pay off. OpenAIRE’s 2025 data and the EOSC federation numbers demonstrate that a federated, interconnected open-science ecosystem expands researchers’ ability to discover, reuse, and build upon others’ work. This is a practical reason for universities and funders to continue investing in data stewardship, metadata quality, and interoperable repositories. Source: OpenAIRE Year in Review 2025; EOSC materials. (openaire.eu)

Third, the preprint ecosystem remains central to rapid dissemination and collaboration, but the path from preprint to journal publication is still an important benchmark. The OpenRxiv 2025 year-in-review data show the high velocity of preprint posting and a substantial share of preprints eventually published, underscoring the value of preprints as part of credible, citation-driven research. Funders and publishers should continue clarifying policies around preprints, licensing, and versioning. Source: OpenRxiv 2025 year-in-review. (openrxiv.org)

Finally, cross-border cooperation and global monitoring are essential to sustain momentum and reduce fragmentation. UNESCO’s monitoring, the Principles for Open Science Monitoring, and the forthcoming Open Science Outlook Vol. 2 in 2026 provide a global-audience framework for comparing progress, identifying gaps, and guiding investment. For readers and practitioners, aligning institutional policies with these global frameworks will be critical to extracting maximum value from open science—both in advancing knowledge and strengthening trust in science.

If you’d like, I can tailor this data roundup to a specific region, discipline, or funding context, or provide a version with interactive charts and linkable datasets to accompany the narrative.