--- title: Religion Data Commons | Activities & Outputs description: The Religion Data Commons initiative is a multi-year effort to build the standards, capacity, and infrastructure needed to make data on religion more open, findable, and reusable. image: https://www.cos.io/hubfs/RDC_website.png --- - Our sites: - [OSF](https://osf.io) - [TOP Guidelines](https://www.cos.io/initiatives/top-guidelines?hsLang=en) - [* *Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/cos.io)[* *Mastodon](https://fosstodon.org/@CenterforOpenScience)[* *Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-for-open-science/)[* *YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@CenterforOpenScience) - [**  Shop](https://www.redbubble.com/people/OpenScience/shop) - [**  Donate](https://www.cos.io/support-cos?hsLang=en) [![Center for Open Science](https://www.cos.io/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/COS%202024/cos-full-tag-h.png?width=2000&height=293&name=cos-full-tag-h.png "Center for Open Science")](https://www.cos.io?hsLang=en) ** ** ![Religion Data Commons](https://www.cos.io/hubfs/RDC_tall.png) ![Religion Data Commons](https://www.cos.io/hubfs/RDC_tall.png) - [Overview](https://www.cos.io/rdc?hsLang=en) - [Activities & Outputs](https://www.cos.io/rdc-activities?hsLang=en) - [Project Team & Partners](https://www.cos.io/rdc-partners?hsLang=en) - [Get Involved](https://www.cos.io/rdc-involved?hsLang=en) ## Activities Our work began in November 2024 and is structured into four phases, with example activities highlighted as follows. Funds are so far committed for Phases 1-3. **Phase 1: Learning (2024-2026)** - research into current adoption of and attitudes towards open scholarship practices among researchers who handle data on religion - assessment of current journal policies regarding data sharing - landscaping of existing data stewardship training provision - review of prior interdisciplinary data stewardship initiatives in domains other than religion and consideration of what lessons can be learned from prior efforts to harmonize data on religion  **Phase 2: Scoping (2025-2026)** - conducting focus groups to explore discipline-specific needs and challenges - reviewing current best practices for interdisciplinary data stewardship, metadata schemas, and data commons governance - assessing the current state, roadmaps, and interoperability of technical infrastructure that would be needed to support the RDC - identifying data stewardship champions from target disciplines **Phase 3: Community Building and Prioritization (2026-2027)** - conducting focus groups with researchers, infrastructure managers and builders, gatekeepers, and potential end users to prioritize metadata concepts and infrastructure features - forming an interim Steering Group to build the foundations for a long-term, community-based governance model - a collaborative design workshop to refine the RDC specifications **Phase 4: Co-Design and Launch (2027-2031)** - supporting co-design working groups focused on community engagement, metadata standards, tools, policies, and training - commissioning a feasibility study and soliciting public comment - building and launching the RDC   ## Outputs For our latest working documents, presentations, reports, and project updates, please visit our Open Science Framework (OSF) [project page](https://osf.io/hduwn/).  [![Overview](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6723653/b9ae037f-f7ac-4dfe-bd20-a510bc5876c9.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6723653/b9ae037f-f7ac-4dfe-bd20-a510bc5876c9)[![Team and partners](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6723653/c174a456-ee51-44d0-bbf2-6eb74b5a9277.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6723653/c174a456-ee51-44d0-bbf2-6eb74b5a9277)[![Get involved](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6723653/06a27238-f4ed-4272-86f0-25af1c65444c.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6723653/06a27238-f4ed-4272-86f0-25af1c65444c) Interested in learning more? 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