High-quality, high-frequency individual data production in Italy: innovation introduced by FOSSR

This policy brief addresses the increasing demand for timely, reliable, and granular social data to inform research and public decision-making in contexts of rapid social, economic, and political change and urgent issues. While online panels for survey research and large-scale behavioral laboratories have become essential tools for monitoring societal dynamics and evaluating policy interventions, Italy has historically lacked a publicly governed infrastructure capable of delivering such services at scale. This contribution illustrates how the FOSSR (Fostering Open Science in Social Science Research) project aims to fill this gap through the development of an integrated research infrastructure combining three complementary services. The Italian Online Probability Panel (IOPP) is being developed to provide probability-based longitudinal data for monitoring social transformations, enabling a representative depiction of social phenomena and alignment with leading European survey infrastructures. The Online Research Panel (ORP) is an opt-in panel calibrated through quota sampling, designed to support socio-economic research, particularly by enabling the investigation of emerging phenomena and the study of specific subpopulations. Poolpo enables large-scale behavioral experimentation, facilitating access to a broad base of volunteers and supporting the design and real-time monitoring of experimental activities. By integrating these services within a single, open, and publicly accessible framework, FOSSR enhances the capacity of Italian social science to produce policy-relevant evidence while ensuring transparency, ethical standards, and compliance with FAIR data principles. Such an ecosystem contributes to more responsive, inclusive, and accountable policymaking, strengthens public trust in data-driven governance, and aligns Italy with leading European research ecosystems.