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What Is the Partnership Program?​

The Science Integrity Alliance (SIA) Partnership Program is a global, cross-sector, and cross-disciplinary collaborative initiative that connects organizations, initiatives, and communities working to strengthen research integrity, openness, and responsible research practices.

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The program was created in response to a fragmented research integrity landscape, where efforts are often siloed by discipline, sector, or geography, limiting their collective effectiveness. Its purpose is to strengthen the global research integrity ecosystem by providing shared, openly accessible collaboration infrastructure that supports coordination, knowledge exchange, and community-led solutions. By connecting initiatives across regions and sectors, the program seeks to reduce duplication of effort, increase visibility of existing work, and amplify impact in ways that benefit researchers, institutions, policymakers, funders, and the public.

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The Partnership Program is not a membership association, accreditation body, or commercial scheme. Participation is free of charge and does not confer governance authority, endorsement, or commercial advantage.

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As part of SIA’s ongoing organizational transition, the Partnership Program will operate as a fiscally sponsored nonprofit project (see Governance). This reflects SIA's move toward a hybrid model in which nonprofit, public-interest activities are clearly separated from commercial and revenue-generating operations. Once fiscal sponsorship is in place, the Partnership Program will be able to receive U.S. tax-deductible donations and grants through a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, while remaining independent, community-driven, and globally engaged.

 

Who Can Join?​

The Partnership Program welcomes a wide range of mission-aligned entities, from established organizations to emerging initiatives, including legally recognized organizations such as corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, associations, or trusts; nonprofit organizations, whether incorporated or unincorporated; governmental bodies or public agencies; and initiatives, projects, or working groups that maintain an official website and are supported by a legal entity.

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To be eligible, an entity must focus on one or more research integrity areas, including but not limited to scholarly infrastructure, research communication, education, reproducibility, and/or Open Science; demonstrate a clear commitment to ethical and responsible research practices; and maintain independence from commercial interests that could conflict with SIA's mission.

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Participation is limited to entities whose involvement serves the public-benefit and educational purposes of the Partnership Program. For-profit entities may participate only where their involvement directly advances the program's public-interest mission and does not result in commercial promotion, private benefit, or preferential treatment. Participation decisions are made by SIA in accordance with its Governance Framework and, once fiscal sponsorship is in place, are subject to fiscal sponsor policies and oversight.

 

How Does the Partnership Program Work?

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The Partnership Program supports collaboration and collective learning across the global research integrity community through dedicated communication channels for coordination and peer exchange; thematic working groups with defined scopes; educational resources, webinars, and community convenings; collaborative projects co-developed across multiple initiatives; amplification of partner work through coordinated dissemination; and shared open infrastructure, such as searchable directories and resource catalogs, to improve discoverability and reduce duplication of effort. All outputs are openly accessible to the wider research community.

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What Does Participation Include?

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• Network Participation and Recognition: ​Partners are publicly listed as participants in a global research integrity network. This includes logo placement for identification purposes, with a link to the partner’s official page on SIA's Homepage and Network Page, and a partner badge displayed on public profiles within SIA's forums and member directory. This recognition reflects shared mission alignment and contribution to a public-interest initiative and does not constitute endorsement, accreditation, or a legal partnership with SIA.​

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• Collaboration and Peer Learning: Partners may participate in facilitated discussions, convenings, working groups, and webinars focused on shared challenges and learning across the research integrity and Open Science landscape.​

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• Contribution to Public-Interest Outputs: Partners may contribute expertise, perspectives, or case examples to the development of openly accessible resources, including educational materials, multimedia content, and collaborative publications. All outputs produced through the Partnership Program are intended for public benefit and shared openly.​​

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• Access to Shared Platforms: Partners receive access to dedicated communication channels, collaboration tools, and shared workspaces used to coordinate Partnership Program activities.​

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What Are the Program Principles?

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There are no fees to join the Partnership Program. Participation may not be used to advertise, market, or solicit paid services or products within Partnership Program activities, platforms, or communications. Participation does not confer financial benefit, competitive advantage, or preferential treatment, and Partners hold no governance, fiduciary, or decision-making authority within SIA.

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As part of SIA's ongoing transition to a hybrid structure (see Governance), SIA's commercial activities, including subscriptions, paid advertising, the SIA Marketplace, and the SIA Shop, will be operated separately by the SIA Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). The PBC may offer discounted or waived fees for subscriptions and advertising to nonprofit organizations working in research integrity and Open Science, with such pricing decisions based on organizational status and mission alignment and administered exclusively by the PBC, independent of the Partnership Program. Participation in the Partnership Program is not required to access SIA's commercial offerings.

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All Partners are expected to comply with SIA's Terms of Use and applicable policies, including those related to independence, confidentiality, and competing interests. Once fiscal sponsorship is in place, the Partnership Program will operate under the oversight and compliance requirements of its fiscal sponsor, no private benefit or private inurement may result from participation, and all assets and outputs developed with charitable funds will remain held in charitable trust.

 

How to Join? 

Entities interested in joining the Partnership Program must complete the Partnership Program Form. Applications are reviewed by the SIA team to confirm mission alignment and eligibility.

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Once accepted, Partners must create an institutional account, including a profile image and a completed "About" section, within seven (7) business days of approval to ensure accurate public representation within the network.

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For more information about the Partnership Program, participation terms, or governance context, please review SIA's Governance Framework, Terms of Use, and Funding Policy, or contact us at contactus@sci-integrity.com.