Platformization of research data infrastructure: A decadal analysis of scientific data management plans

New federal research policies support data-driven science by requiring data management planning and data preservation for open access to scientific data and research products. This article shows a “platform effect” in how scientists plan for data preservation. By examining 976 data management plans for projects funded between 2011 and 2021 by the United States’ National Science Foundation (NSF) in five research areas, we document a shift in planning for data preservation on corporate-owned platforms away from open-source solutions. These findings raise questions about the potential impact of cloud storage services and corporate platforms on scientific knowledge production. We argue that the dynamics of platform capitalism and open access mandates create new challenges for scientists, policymakers, and proponents of open science because of how value and control are distributed within digital preservation infrastructures. As research data increasingly becomes managed and made accessible by platforms and cloud storage services, scientific knowledge risks becoming enclosed, with implications for the reconfiguration of knowledge infrastructure, control over long-term preservation, open access to data, and the circulation of scientific research.