The Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform-An open science framework for the neuroscience community

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Open Science
• Data Science

Background:

• The Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP) was established to address the need for greater accessibility and collaboration in neuroscience research.
• Traditional research practices often involve data silos and limited access to tools, hindering scientific progress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a high-level overview of the CONP's multifaceted approach to enabling open neuroscience.
• To highlight CONP's vision of lowering barriers and accelerating discovery in the neuroscience community.

Main Methods:

• Development of the CONP Portal, a decentralized repository for browsing, searching, accessing, and sharing neuroscience datasets and analysis tools.
• Implementation of NeuroLibre, a preprint server for hosting executable and reproducible scientific publications.
• Establishment of frameworks for ethics and data governance, training resources, and community engagement initiatives.

Main Results:

• The CONP infrastructure, including the Portal and NeuroLibre, facilitates adherence to FAIR principles for data and tool accessibility.
• CONP provides comprehensive support for training and ethical data management, fostering a collaborative research environment.
• The platform has successfully grown an engaged community through strategic outreach and communication efforts.

Conclusions:

• CONP offers a holistic solution to promote open neuroscience practices, benefiting individual researchers and the scientific community.
• By lowering barriers to data and tool access, CONP accelerates the pace of discovery in neuroscience.
• The platform's integrated approach to infrastructure, governance, training, and community building is key to its success.