Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What is the Commons?

The Commons is a shared infrastructure for academic, professional, institutional, community-based, cultural, and public-interest knowledge activity.

It enables people and organizations to identify significant questions, develop knowledge, participate in Community Groups, undertake or commission research, publish scholarly and professional work, preserve outputs, attend events, contribute expertise, develop Partnerships, and use knowledge responsibly.

The Commons operates through two connected architectures.

The Knowledge Architecture supports the development, examination, publication, preservation, discovery, citation, and responsible use of knowledge.

The Engagement Architecture provides routes through which people, communities, institutions, and partners may participate in, shape, support, and sustain Commons activity.

The Commons is not simply a website, events platform, journal, or repository. It is a governed environment through which knowledge may move from early discussion and development to research, publication, preservation, and future use.

Who can use the Commons?

Anyone may use publicly available parts of the Commons.

The Commons is intended for researchers, academics, practitioners, students, institutions, professional bodies, public bodies, civil-society organizations, community organizations, funders, editors, reviewers, data specialists, librarians, archivists, people with lived experience, cultural organizations, and members of the public.

Different users may engage at different levels.

A person or organization may:

• Use public material without creating an account
• Register for a defined activity
• Become an Individual Member
• Participate through an Institutional Member
• Join an eligible Community Group
• Attend an event or learning activity
• Apply for a defined role
• Submit a manuscript, resource, question, Commission Request, Event Proposal, or other contribution
• Make a Partnership, sponsorship, funding, or support enquiry

Do I need to become a Member to use the Commons?

No.

You may use public Commons material without becoming a Member.

Public visitors may explore Critical Issues, read public guidance, search open Repository records, access publicly available Journal Publications, view Calls and Opportunities, attend eligible public events, and contact the Commons.

Membership is intended for people and institutions seeking an ongoing relationship with the Commons.

What is the difference between public access, registration, and Membership?

Public access allows anyone to use openly available Commons material without creating an account.

Registered non-member access allows a person or organization to create an account, or act through a verified contact, for a defined purpose. This may include event registration, a Partnership enquiry, a sponsorship proposal, a volunteer application, a manuscript submission, a Commission Request, a Call or Opportunity, or another approved activity.

Individual Membership provides an ongoing personal or professional relationship with the Commons.

Institutional Membership provides an ongoing organizational relationship with the Commons through authorized representatives.

Registration does not automatically create Membership.

Membership does not automatically provide access to confidential material, Community Groups, Working Spaces, restricted data, editorial authority, governance roles, project roles, or other specific permissions.

Can I use the Commons without creating an account?

Yes.

You may use publicly available material without creating an account.

You may need an account or verified contact record if you wish to:

• Register for an event
• Save content or manage preferences
• Receive updates
• Submit an enquiry
• Respond to a Call or Opportunity
• Offer sponsorship or support
• Apply for Membership
• Apply for a volunteer or contributor role
• Submit a manuscript
• Deposit material in the Repository
• Submit an Event Proposal or Commission Request
• Participate in a restricted or role-based activity

Membership Questions

What is Individual Membership?

Individual Membership is for people who wish to participate in the Commons in a personal or professional capacity.

It may be suitable for academics, researchers, practitioners, students, independent professionals, community contributors, people with lived experience, educators, editors, reviewers, data specialists, librarians, archivists, and others with a legitimate interest in the work of the Commons.

Individual Membership may enable eligible participation in Community Groups, Critical Issues, Events and Learning, Calls and Opportunities, consultations, learning activity, contributor opportunities, and other Member services.

It does not automatically grant access to every Group, Working Space, role, project, restricted record, or Member activity.

What is Institutional Membership?

Institutional Membership is for organizations that wish to establish an ongoing relationship with the Commons.

Eligible institutions may include universities, research institutions, public bodies, professional associations, libraries, archives, museums, civil-society organizations, community organizations, foundations, networks, and other bodies with a relevant purpose.

Institutional Members participate through authorized representatives.

Institutional Membership may enable an organization to receive relevant communications, identify opportunities, participate in eligible Commons activity through authorized representatives, and develop an ongoing relationship with the Commons.

It does not automatically create a Partnership, funding agreement, governance role, research contract, Working Space access, or right to restricted information.

Can I become an Individual Member if my institution is already an Institutional Member?

Yes.

Individual Membership and Institutional Membership are distinct.

An individual associated with an Institutional Member may hold Individual Membership in their own right.

For example, a university may hold Institutional Membership while one of its researchers, students, or professional staff becomes an Individual Member.

Institutional Membership does not automatically create Individual Membership for all people associated with the institution.

Does Individual Membership make me an employee, representative, or spokesperson for the Commons?

No.

Individual Membership does not create employment, agency, governance authority, or permission to speak on behalf of the Commons.

A Member may represent the Commons only where they have been formally authorized to do so.

Does Membership automatically give me access to all Commons activity?

No.

Membership provides an ongoing relationship with the Commons and access according to the applicable Membership arrangement, permissions, and conditions.

It does not automatically give access to every Community Group, Working Space, event, project, role, restricted record, controlled data, Journal process, Repository collection, or Partnership activity.

Some activity may require a separate application, invitation, role appointment, eligibility check, training, confidentiality agreement, safeguarding arrangement, project involvement, Community Group participation, or another approved access route.

Does Institutional Membership make an institution a partner of the Commons?

Not automatically.

Institutional Membership establishes an ongoing Membership relationship.

A Partnership is a separate relationship involving a defined shared purpose, roles, contributions, governance arrangements, and, where appropriate, a written agreement.

An Institutional Member may later become a partner, sponsor, research collaborator, event co-host, funder, or contributor through a separate process.

Can I volunteer or contribute without becoming a Member?

Potentially, yes.

Some volunteer, contributor, event-support, translation, accessibility, research-communication, moderation-support, peer-learning, community-engagement, or other opportunities may be open to public applicants or registered non-members.

Other roles may be available only to Individual Members, authorized representatives of Institutional Members, participants in a particular Community Group, or people who meet specific eligibility conditions.

Each opportunity should state who may apply and whether it requires a separate application, screening, induction, training, role agreement, confidentiality arrangement, safeguarding process, declaration of interest, or other relevant condition.

Membership does not guarantee appointment to a volunteer or contributor role.

Are Membership fees charged?

The Commons may establish Membership fees, reduced rates, bursaries, waivers, payment arrangements, or other access-support measures.

Applicable fees, payment arrangements, eligibility for reduced rates, and renewal conditions should be stated clearly on the relevant Individual Membership and Institutional Membership pages.

The Commons should seek to avoid excluding valuable contributors solely because of financial circumstances.

Can Membership be suspended or ended?

Yes.

A Member may end Membership through the relevant process.

The Commons may suspend or terminate Membership where there is a serious or repeated breach of Membership conditions, participation standards, confidentiality, ethical requirements, data rules, safeguarding obligations, or other applicable policies.

Any suspension or termination process should be fair, proportionate, documented, and subject to an appropriate review or appeal route.

Community Questions

What is a Community Group?

A Community Group is a Commons space through which people with a shared interest, question, field, practice area, experience, or concern may connect and participate in relevant activity.

A Community Group may support discussion, knowledge sharing, Critical Issues, events, learning, consultation, resource development, proposal development, and other approved Commons activity.

Community Groups may be public, Member-access, invitation-based, project-specific, or restricted, depending on their purpose and conditions.

Can I join a Community Group without becoming a Member?

Some Community Groups or Group activities may be open to public visitors or registered non-members.

Other Groups may require Individual Membership, participation through an Institutional Member, invitation, approval, or another eligibility condition.

Each Group should state its access and participation arrangements clearly.

Does Membership automatically give me access to every Community Group?

No.

Membership may make a person eligible to join specified Community Groups, but a Member does not automatically belong to every Group.

A Group may have particular participation conditions because of its purpose, capacity, confidentiality, safeguarding needs, project requirements, subject matter, or other legitimate considerations.

What is a Working Space?

A Working Space is a defined environment for focused work.

It may support research development, evidence review, project coordination, publication work, learning design, Event Proposal development, consultation planning, resource development, Partnership activity, or another specific task.

A Working Space may be linked to a Community Group, project, research activity, event, publication process, Partnership, or another Commons pathway.

Does joining a Community Group give me access to its Working Space?

Not automatically.

Community Group participation enables fuller participation in the activity of that Group.

Working Space access may depend on a role, invitation, permission, project involvement, Group conditions, confidentiality arrangements, training, safeguarding requirements, or another approved basis.

Can I attend an event without joining a Community Group?

Yes, where the event’s access conditions permit this.

An event may be public, Member-access, Group-specific, invitation-only, project-based, partner-led, or restricted.

Attending an event does not automatically create Community Group participation, Membership, Working Space access, or a formal role in the Commons.

Knowledge Architecture Questions

What is the Knowledge Architecture?

The Knowledge Architecture is the part of the Commons through which knowledge is developed, examined, published, preserved, discovered, cited, and made available for responsible use.

It includes:

• Community development through Community Groups and Working Spaces
• Commissioned Research
• Journal Publication
• Repository

Use the Knowledge Architecture if you wish to find, create, develop, commission, publish, preserve, cite, or apply knowledge.

What is Commissioned Research?

Commissioned Research is the structured Commons pathway for developing and delivering research, evaluation, evidence synthesis, or other knowledge-development work.

It may begin with a Commission Request and proceed through a Concept Note, Commissioning Brief, provider selection, project initiation, delivery, review, dissemination, Repository deposit, and closeout.

It is appropriate where a question requires systematic inquiry, formal governance, resources, defined outputs, provider expertise, quality assurance, and planned preservation.

Can anyone submit a Commission Request?

The Commons may permit public visitors, registered non-members, Individual Members, Institutional Members, Community Groups, partners, or other eligible participants to submit a Commission Request.

Relevant guidance should explain who may submit, what information is needed, how requests are assessed, and what happens after submission.

Submitting a Commission Request does not guarantee that research will be commissioned.

Does Commissioned Research guarantee a particular conclusion?

No.

A commissioning body may define a need, approve a scope, allocate resources, and accept final outputs.

However, it should not predetermine research findings or require a provider to produce a particular conclusion.

Providers remain responsible for methodological quality, ethical practice, accurate reporting, and clear treatment of limitations and uncertainty.

What is Journal Publication?

Journal Publication is the Commons route for formal scholarly, professional, methodological, and practice-based publication.

The Journal may publish original research, reviews, methodological papers, policy analysis, practice studies, case studies, commentary, reflective work, and thematic collections.

Each contribution should identify its status and applicable review process.

Can non-members submit work to the Journal?

The Journal may accept submissions from non-members where its author guidance permits this.

Publication decisions should be based on the Journal’s stated scope, standards, quality requirements, and review process, not on whether an author holds Membership.

Membership does not guarantee publication, editorial appointment, reviewer appointment, priority treatment, or influence over editorial judgment.

What is the Repository?

The Repository is the Commons’ durable knowledge record.

It may preserve research reports, evaluations, evidence syntheses, Journal Publications, datasets or data descriptions, frameworks, toolkits, training resources, project records, and supporting materials.

Repository records should include relevant metadata, access conditions, licensing information, provenance, version information, and citation guidance where applicable.

Can I deposit work in the Repository?

You may be able to deposit work if you have the authority to do so and if the item meets Repository requirements.

You may need to confirm ownership, permissions, licensing, access conditions, authorship, version status, confidentiality, ethical requirements, data conditions, and supporting metadata before deposit.

Repository deposit does not mean that every item will be publicly accessible.

Some records may be restricted, embargoed, controlled-access, redacted, metadata-only, or unavailable for release.

Engagement Architecture Questions

What is the Engagement Architecture?

The Engagement Architecture provides routes through which people, communities, institutions, and partners can participate in, shape, support, and sustain the Commons.

It includes:

• Critical Issues
• Membership
• Partnerships and External Collaboration
• Volunteer and Contributor Opportunities
• Events and Learning
• Funding, Sponsorship, and Support
• Calls and Opportunities
• Contact and Support

What are Critical Issues?

Critical Issues are major questions, challenges, or priorities around which the Commons organizes related knowledge and activity.

A Critical Issue may connect evidence, Community Groups, Working Spaces, research needs, publications, Repository collections, Partnerships, Events and Learning activity, funding opportunities, and Calls for contribution.

You may use Critical Issues to understand an important topic, find relevant work, identify unanswered questions, contribute knowledge or experience, and discover related pathways.

Can I suggest a Critical Issue?

Yes, where the relevant Critical Issues route permits this.

The Commons may ask you to explain the proposed Issue, why it matters, who may be affected, what knowledge or activity already exists, relevant evidence or experience, potential contributors, and possible next steps.

A suggested Issue does not automatically become an official Commons Critical Issue.

The Commons should assess relevance, feasibility, sensitivity, public-interest value, resourcing, and alignment with its purpose and priorities.

What are Events and Learning?

Events and Learning is the Commons platform for convening discussion, exchange, capability development, public learning, research communication, professional development, community participation, and other structured activity.

It may include public events, Member events, Community Group events, Working Sessions, workshops, seminars, webinars, training, masterclasses, learning series, consultations, and partner-led or co-hosted activity.

How can I suggest an event, training session, or learning activity?

Use the relevant Events and Learning or Contact and Support route.

The Commons may ask you to provide a title, purpose, intended audience, relevance, proposed format, potential contributors, accessibility requirements, resources required, funding or sponsorship information, and expected outcomes.

A suggestion does not automatically mean that the activity will proceed.

The Commons should assess relevance, feasibility, capacity, safeguarding, accessibility, resourcing, independence, and alignment with its priorities.

What are Calls and Opportunities?

Calls and Opportunities are structured invitations for people and organizations to apply, submit, contribute, or express interest in defined Commons activity.

They may include calls for:

• Research providers
• Authors
• Editors
• Reviewers
• Volunteers
• Speakers
• Facilitators
• Advisers
• Community contributors
• Working Group participants
• Partners
• Research participants
• Data contributors
• Event contributors
• Funding or sponsorship proposals

Each Call should explain its purpose, eligibility, requirements, timetable, selection process, access conditions, relevant declarations, and contact arrangements.

Partnerships, Funding, And Support Questions

How can my organization become a partner?

Begin through Partnerships and External Collaboration.

The Commons will consider the proposed purpose, relevance, expected contribution, governance, resources, independence, data and intellectual-property requirements, conflicts of interest, risks, accessibility, community participation, safeguarding, and public value of the possible relationship.

A Partnership may involve shared research, Critical Issues, Community Groups, events, learning, dissemination, data access, Repository collections, community engagement, preservation, or a broader programme of work.

Does a Partnership have to be formal?

Not always.

A simple, low-risk, short-term activity may require only a written confirmation of purpose, contacts, responsibilities, communications, and key conditions.

A substantial, long-term, funded, research-based, data-intensive, community-sensitive, or legally significant Partnership may require a formal agreement.

Can an institution sponsor an event without becoming an Institutional Member?

Yes.

An institution, organization, company, foundation, or other eligible body may sponsor or provide in-kind support for a Commons event without becoming an Institutional Member.

The organization may submit a sponsorship or support enquiry through Funding, Sponsorship, and Support.

A specific agreement may then define the purpose, contribution, acknowledgment, access arrangements, independence safeguards, conflicts-of-interest requirements, and duration of the relationship.

How can I sponsor or support the Commons?

Begin with Funding, Sponsorship, and Support.

You may propose financial support, event sponsorship, a donation, technical support, venue provision, data access, translation, accessibility support, training support, fellowship support, Repository support, or another eligible in-kind contribution.

The Commons should assess proposed support for suitability, transparency, independence, conflicts of interest, and alignment with its Principles and Values.

Will sponsorship, funding, or support give me control over research or publications?

No.

Sponsorship, funding, donation, or in-kind support should not determine research findings, provider selection, editorial decisions, peer-review outcomes, access to restricted information, or the interpretation of evidence.

The Commons should disclose relevant support arrangements and manage conflicts of interest appropriately.

Privacy, Access, And Conduct Questions

How is my information used?

The Commons should collect, store, use, retain, share, and dispose of personal and institutional information only for stated and legitimate purposes.

These may include account administration, Membership, access management, communication, event registration, participation, safeguarding, governance, research administration, Repository deposit, financial administration, legal compliance, and service improvement.

The relevant Privacy, Data, and Consent information should explain what is collected, why it is collected, who may access it, how it is protected, how long it is retained, and how users can raise concerns.

Why is some information restricted?

Some information may be restricted to protect personal data, confidentiality, participant safety, sensitive findings, community or cultural knowledge, security, commercial information, intellectual property, contractual obligations, legal requirements, or material still undergoing review.

A restricted record may still provide a description, metadata, access statement, or contact route without disclosing protected material.

How can I request access to restricted material?

Where a restricted item has an access-request route, follow the contact or permissions information provided in the record.

Access may depend on the item’s conditions, the purpose of the request, consent, ethics, law, institutional approval, data-protection requirements, contractual obligations, and available safeguards.

Not all restricted material can be released.

What conduct is expected?

All participants should act respectfully and in good faith.

Users should treat others with dignity, respect confidentiality and access conditions, disclose relevant conflicts of interest, attribute work appropriately, distinguish evidence from opinion where relevant, and avoid harassment, discrimination, plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, misrepresentation, defamatory claims, and unauthorized disclosure.

Reasoned disagreement and evidence-based critique are welcome.

They must not become personal attack, intimidation, identity-based hostility, collective blame, discriminatory conduct, coercion, or improper pressure on another participant.

How do I raise a concern or make a complaint?

Use Contact and Support or the relevant complaints, safeguarding, privacy, data-protection, editorial, Membership, project, event, or Partnership process.

The Commons should direct the matter to the appropriate authority and handle concerns fairly, proportionately, confidentially where appropriate, and in accordance with applicable policies.

You may raise concerns about:

• Conduct or harassment
• Discrimination
• Safeguarding
• Privacy or data protection
• Confidentiality
• Restricted access
• Research integrity
• Editorial or peer-review integrity
• A conflict of interest
• A Partnership, sponsorship, funder, provider, or external collaborator
• An event, Community Group, Working Space, project, publication, or Repository record
• Another serious concern relating to Commons activity