Figshare, a community-based open science project that has been described as “a Dropbox for academic research,” added a data platform that will enable higher education institutions to host academic research and make it publicly available as its funding mandates require.
Figshare launched last year and is funded by Digital Science, under the global division of Macmillan Science & Education. It is an independent service which allows users to upload any file format so that figures, datasets, media, papers, posters, presentations, and filesets can be disseminated. Figshare for Institutions allows researchers to host their work privately until it is completed, or to upload it so that it is citable, searchable, and discoverable.
“Academics can struggle to organize their research outputs, as I once did,” said Figshare founder Mark Hahnel, who came up with the idea for the software when he was studying for his PhD in stem cell biology at Imperial College, London. “Figshare for Institutions integrates into their existing workflow so that their data management requirements are complied with subconsciously.” He regards it as “a huge step up from the siloed system that exists within many research organizations.”
