In light of current and future cultural, technological, and ecological upheavals, it is crucial that we—the scientific community—develop solutions for a sustainable Anthropocene. The goal is to understand and actively contribute to shaping complex ecological and societal changes.

With OSIRIS, the foundations for an integrated interdisciplinary infrastructure are being established for the first time on a global scale. A national integrated interdisciplinary collection—and, by extension, research and information infrastructure—holds the potential to unlock tremendous knowledge, action, and transformative capabilities, akin to the international research infrastructures in the physical sciences, such as particle accelerators or globally interconnected telescopes.

The Knowledge-Impact Cycle outlines the core elements of the Open Science, Information, and Research Infrastructure (OSIRIS). It highlights the dynamic nature of this unique global knowledge infrastructure, where collections are developed in response to user needs, disciplinary boundaries in collection development and use are transcended (iLABS), and societal impact (tLABS) is pursued integrally.

• Knowledge (green) refers to the components of data mobilization, data linking, and interdisciplinary knowledge generation based on an Open Science – Open Data framework.
• Impact (pink) focuses on the establishment of transdisciplinary approaches to develop innovations and sustainable, knowledge-based solutions in collaboration with stakeholders from sectors such as business, civil society, and culture.
• The iLABS, interdisciplinary decentralised programmes within OSIRIS, promote cross-disciplinary research methodologies to knowledge production.
• The tLABS, which operate based on the real-world laboratory model, foster dynamic transformation and strategic contextualisation of the knowledge infrastructure.

The importance of Citizen Science, input from the scientific community, and coordination with international partners are reflected in the graphic.