- Funding
- Assessment and final decision
- Open access to research data
Open access to research data
Open access to research data means that data is made freely available online, following the principle “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. Here you can read more about the transition to open access to research data and Forte’s requirements for data management plans.
The Swedish Government’s objective is for the transition to open access to research data to be completed by 2026. The purpose of open access to research data is to ensure that data collected or generated during the course of research is openly available and thus easy to find, review, share and reuse. Determining which data can be published with open access shall always be based on applicable legislation. To promote the usability of research data made openly accessible, data management should follow the FAIR principles — that is, data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.
Good data management is a key component of open access to research data. Using a Data Management Plan (DMP), researchers can describe how data are collected and/or created, how they will be handled during the course of the research, and how they will be taken care of afterwards. The data management plan promotes the secure and accurate handling of research data.
Forte-funded research must have data management plans
In all Forte funded projects that generate research data, a data management plan has to be established in accordance with the recommendations of the administrating organisation and the recommendations for FAIR and open research data. By accepting Fortes terms and conditions for grants the administering organisation commits to ensure that a data management plan is drawn up before the research starts in projects that generate data, and that the plan is maintained and complied with.
Recommendations for FAIR and open research data (vr.se) External link.
The Swedish Research Council has been commissioned by the government to coordinate the transition to open access to research data in Sweden and has developed recommendations for FAIR and open research data.
Last published: 20 October 2025