User:Filippo Morsiani/Open access in Europe

Open Access in Europe presents a varied picture, from countries with numerous open access depositories and journals, national funding mandates and copyright legislation supporting open access (see open access in Germany), to those with limited internet connectivity (e.g. Albania) and few peer-reviewed open access journals (such as Luxembourg, Albania, Latvia, Montenegro).[1]

Although open access developments often follow economic development this is not always so: Moldova, for example, in partnership with INASP and eIFL, has developed active OA programmes. Its work with eIFL has enabled a consortium of international recognition with representation at UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).[1]

For many countries in Europe the Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for European Research (DRIVER) initiative was the critical stimulating activity for Open Access developments. Through provision of guidelines and by establishing a network of open access experts, the project provided the support required to introduce open access practices. The work of INASP and eIFL have assisted in taking these developments further; eIFL in particular has offered an important advocacy role in raising open access awareness and debate. In collaboration with the respective national libraries, eIFL actively provides open access support to a number of developing and transition countries in Europe.[1]

In 2015 Europe had an internet penetration rate of 70.4%. This has created an enabling environment for the development of open access digital repositories and e-journal interfaces in the regions. Throughout Europe there are currently 1,304 open access repositories which are registered in OpenDOAR. The UK (232), Germany (175) and Spain (120) are major contributors.

In DOAJ the UK, Spain and Germany have a total of 699, 586 and 353 open access journals respectively. [1]

Major Projects and Initiatives edit

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) edit

Is a service that provides access to quality controlled Open Access journals. The Directory of Open Access Journals aims to be comprehensive and cover all Open Access scientific and scholarly journals that use an appropriate quality control system, and is not limited to any particular language or subject area. The aim of the directory is to increase the visibility and ease of use of Open Access scientific and scholarly journals, thereby promoting their increased usage and impact. It is maintained by the University of Lund, Sweden.[1]

Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for European Research (DRIVER) edit

DRIVER has established a network of experts and open access repositories. DRIVER-II will consolidate these efforts and transform the initial testbed into a fully functional, state-of-the art service, extending the network to a larger confederation of repositories. DRIVER is integral to the suite of electronic infrastructures that have emerged in the worldwide GÉANT network and is hence funded under the e-Infrastructures call of the European Commission's 7th framework programme. It aims to “… optimise the way the e-Infrastructure is used to store knowledge, add value to primary research data and information making secondary research more effective, provide a valuable asset for industry, and help bridging research and education.” [1]

The objectives of DRIVER-II, the second phase of the project, include efforts to expand, enrich, and strengthen the results of DRIVER, in the following areas: strategic geographic and community expansion by means of the DRIVER confederation; establish a robust, scalable repository infrastructure accompanied by an open source software package D-Net; broader coverage of content through the use of enhanced publications; advanced end-user functionality to support scientific exploration of complex digital objects; larger outreach and advocacy programmes; continued repository support; guidelines for interoperability in the larger European digital library community.[1]

Towards a European Infrastructure for e-Science Digital Repositories (e-SciDR) edit

e-SciDR is a study led by the Digital Archiving Consultancy on behalf of the European Commission to drive forward the development and use of digital repositories—widely defined, constructs from data to publications to tools—in the EU in all areas of science, from the humanities to the earth sciences.[1]

Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe (OpenAIRE) edit

OpenAIRE builds on well-known and low cost technology for an open access infrastructure and bases its activities on the European network of institutional and thematic repositories. This allows the project to focus on the real effort – the human factor – by creating and establishing a vibrant network of open access advisors in 27 European countries, proactively communicating open access policies to researchers, engaging institution and library executives, national funders and policy makers, while adjusting efforts onto the local context.[1]

Publishing and the Ecology of European Research (PEER) edit

The PEER Pilot Programme is Investigating the Effect of the Deposit of Author Manuscripts on the Ecology of European Research and Publishng. It is supported by the EC eContentplus programme, will investigate the effects of the large-scale, systematic depositing of authors’ final peer-reviewed manuscripts (so called Green Open Access or stage-two research output) on reader access, author visibility, and journal viability, as well as on the broader ecology of European research. The project is a collaboration between publishers, repositories and researchers and lasted from 2008 to 2012.[1]

Southern European Libraries Link (SELL) edit

Represents library consortia of six countries (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey). Although this organization was created to exchange experiences and to act as a pressure group in relation to scientific and technical publishers, its founding charter also states clearly that one of its main goals is “to draw common policies towards information acquirement and provision”.[1]

Open access policies edit

As of September 2015 ROARMAP registers 432 institutional open access policies from Europe. The following research funders' open access mandates have substantial effect due to the geographical spread of their fundees:

  • The European Research Council (ERC): requires open access deposit of research within 6 months of publication.
  • The European Commission FP7: requires open access deposit within 12 months of publication.
  • The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN): requiring open access deposit of all funded research “at earliest possible opportunity”.[1]

Horizon 2020 edit

PASTEUR4OA (Open Access Policy Alignment Strategies for European Union Research) aims to support the Horizon 2020 rules and European Commission’s Recommendation to Member States of July 2012 that they develop and implement policies to ensure open access to all outputs from publicly-funded research. PASTEUR4OA project has several policy focused objectives, such as

  • Recording policies and policy types in order to develop a policy typology
  • Policy analysis; effectiveness and growth
  • A mapping of existing policies to policymakers
  • The development of a series of policy data visualizations using data from ROARMAP.[1]

Open science edit

At European Union level an open science agenda is being developed which will set out areas of specific action agreed by the European Commission (EC) and Member States.  The EC is now moving decisively from ‘Open Access’ into the broader picture of ‘Open science’. The Amsterdam Call for Action on Open Science is a living document outlining concrete actions for the European Community to move to Open Science.

The Science with and for Society work programme of Horizon 2020 (2016- 2017) calls for addressing text and data mining, and innovative approaches to release and disseminate research results and measure their impact.

Elements of open science will also gradually feed into the shaping of a policy for Responsible Research and Innovation and contribute to the realization of the European Research Area and the Innovation Union, the two main flagship initiatives for scientific research and innovation.[1]

Open access by country edit

Sources edit

  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken from Global Open Access Portal​, UNESCO. UNESCO.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Overview of OA in Europe and North America | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2017-06-24.

E Category:Open access (publishing)