Open Science Foundation Privacy Notice

Open Science Stiftung (Open Science Foundation), Obere Bönigstrasse 100, 3800 Matten bei Interlaken, Switzerland, is responsible for the application and official assessment. Contact: office@opening.science.

We collect your name, email, project title, proposal, research question, main claim and measurement, requested funding, budget justification, duration, data and ethics, AI use, repository link, video link, and any co-recipients’ names and roles. We record the submission reference/time, connected profiles, the version/time of your required acknowledgements (Call Terms, temporary question publication and community review), your public-name choice and your choice about continued question publication after 14 April 2027. Required fields are necessary to receive and assess your application.

Connect at least one profile through ORCID, LinkedIn or AT Protocol (Bluesky) before submitting. This confirms control of the connected account, not your real-world identity. We retain the provider, account identifier, profile URL where available and connection date. We use these records to trace submissions and recognise replacement versions. Your chosen provider receives the connection request; we do not send it your application answers. Provider tokens are used temporarily and are not stored. At least one profile must remain connected to a submitted application; contact us if you need help changing it.

We use these records to administer the call, communicate, review proposals and administer awards. Where GDPR applies, necessary application/award processing relies on steps towards an agreement at your request and its performance; profile-based submission tracking, review, proportionate research publication and security rely on legitimate interests in fair, transparent grant administration. Required accounting retention follows legal obligations. Publishing your name and keeping your research question publicly available after 14 April 2027 each rely on your separate optional consent. You can withdraw either by contacting us without affecting earlier lawful processing.

Authorised staff receive the full application. Assigned expert reviewers receive research materials, video and assessment reports. Community peer reviewers receive research materials prepared for anonymised review, with names, contact details, connected profiles and video omitted. Contact details and connected profiles are restricted to staff who need them. A complete copy of each submission is emailed to office@opening.science, handled by the Foundation’s designated call staff, Robin and Martin. Technical maintenance access is restricted to what is needed to operate the service.

After the application deadline on 15 December 2026, we publish only the main research question and application reference from each latest completed application during review and through the end of 14 April 2027. This temporary publication is required to apply, whether or not your project is funded. Your name appears only if you separately opt in. The reference identifies an application; it is not a login or proof of your identity.

Your public entry is removed on 15 April 2027 unless you choose continued publication. That choice is optional and off by default, for funded and unfunded applications alike. Opted-in entries remain until you withdraw the choice or we retire the archive. You can withdraw name attribution or continued publication by contacting us. Research text may itself identify you, and others can copy it while it is public; withdrawing an option does not undo earlier lawful publication.

Other application answers, connected profiles (including ORCID), co-recipients and video links are not published. Theoria reports and their recorded prompts, outputs and tool events stay private to you and authorised reviewers and staff. Public question entries have the separate retention period above; private applications and assessment records follow the schedule below.

You supply a YouTube or Vimeo link rather than uploading a video to the application server. Your chosen video host receives and stores the video under its own terms and privacy notice; unlisted links can still be opened or shared by people who have the link. The Foundation and assigned reviewers use the link to view your submission.

For this support, the Foundation may send necessary extracts from proposals, research questions, claims, measurements, linked code and human-written reviews to Anthropic through Foundation-managed API accounts. Direct identifiers are redacted and videos are excluded; research text may still identify applicants. We do not opt this content into model training. The international-transfer safeguards and provider retention periods below apply. Support records follow the private assessment-record retention schedule and are not automatically published. Where GDPR applies, processing relies on legitimate interests in accurate human review; applicants may object by contacting office@opening.science.

Only your research question is taken from the application for Theoria. Open Science Foundation operates and pays for the runner through its own accounts. OpenAI receives prompts and research context; OpenAlex and model-provider search services receive queries that may include your question. Visited sources receive requested URLs and normal connection information.

The run records prompts, responses, sources and tool events. You and relevant reviewers receive the report with inspectable evidence. You can respond before the final funding decision; the response deadline will be provided with your report. Open Science Foundation remains responsible for funding decisions; contact it before the final decision to challenge an assessment error or explain a finding. Funding decisions are final and cannot be appealed to the Foundation. Your data-protection rights remain unaffected. We use API services without opting application content into model training.

The application database, Open Science Foundation runner and server backups use Hetzner in Germany. Model services operate internationally, including in the US: see OpenAI’s processing locations and Anthropic’s locations. Research services, profile providers, video hosts and visited sources have their own locations. Where required, transfers use an applicable adequacy mechanism or standard contractual clauses with necessary adaptations; contact Open Science Foundation for safeguards.

OpenAI normally retains abuse-monitoring content up to 30 days; Anthropic normally deletes API inputs/outputs within 30 days. Both have feature, safety and legal exceptions. OpenAlex keeps request logs, including search terms, for 90 days. These services may retain assessment content before publication. Their retention periods are separate from Open Science Foundation’s deletion schedule. Details: OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenAlex.

We send your confirmation receipt and the separate complete office copy through Resend in the United States. Your receipt contains your email address, project title, application reference and submission time; the office copy also contains the full application, connected-profile records and accepted-terms metadata. Resend’s standard email/log retention is 30 days, with backups retained for 7 days. See Resend’s data handling. The delivered office copy is also held in the Foundation’s email service and follows the Foundation retention schedule below.

Your draft, submitted answers and receipt stay in your browser so you can edit and resubmit, until cleared or removed by the browser. Private application versions, office email copies and assessment records are kept 12 months after the final funding decision, or 12 months after project completion for funded applications. Required award/accounting records are kept separately for the applicable period. The Foundation deletes office mailbox copies under this schedule separately from automated server deletion.

A necessary browser cookie keeps your profile connections associated with your draft or receipt for up to 30 days. Temporary connection requests expire after 10 minutes and are cleared when completed or during the next cleanup. Clearing cookies or using another browser removes this browser’s access to manage connections; reconnect the same profile to resubmit before the deadline, or contact us for help.

Operational logs expire within 30 days, without application text, model transcripts or keys. Server backups expire within 30 days, so deleted records can remain in protected backups until expiry; deletions are reapplied after restoration. Specific legal obligations can require preservation of affected records. This application has no advertising or analytics trackers.

Contact Open Science Foundation for access, correction, deletion or a copy of your data, including withdrawal of public name attribution. Applicable law may also provide restriction, objection, withdrawal of consent and complaint rights, including to the Swiss FDPIC or your EU/EEA supervisory authority. We may verify account control or request other evidence to handle your request; legal retention duties can limit deletion.

Optional practice is linked from the call’s /apply page and operated separately by Standard Proofs, Inc. Its link opens a new tab without automatically transferring your application. Its own notice and terms apply. Practice reports are not automatically shared with Open Science Foundation and do not affect selection.