In this contribution we discuss new experimental approaches to indirectly provide information on neutron-capture rates relevant to the $r$-process. In particular, we focus on applications of the Oslo method to extract fundamental nuclear properties for reaction-rate calculations: the nuclear level density and the $\gamma$ strength function. Two methods are discussed in detail, the Oslo method in inverse kinematics and the beta-Oslo method. These methods present a first step towards constraining neutron-capture rates of importance to the $r$-process.