Category Archives: oa.craft-oa

CRAFT-OA Deliverable 3.1 Report on Standards for Best Publishing Practices and Basic Technical Requirements in the Light of FAIR Principles | Zenodo

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Armengou, Clara, Edig, Xenia van, Laakso, Mikael, & Umerle, Tomasz. (2023). CRAFT-OA Deliverable 3.1 Report on Standards for Best Publishing Practices and Basic Technical Requirements in the Light of FAIR Principles (Draft). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8112662

“Diamond OA Journals have an enormous potential to establish and sustain an open scholarly communication. This is uncovered by the “Open Access Diamond Journals Study” (OADJS).” From 17 000 to 29 000 Open Access Diamond Journals (OADJ) published worldwide are responsible for publishing 8-9% of the world’s scientific articles. This makes up 45% of Open Access (OA) publishing in general.
To develop this potential serious challenges need to be overcome, mastered and robust support needs to be provided to the Diamond OA Journals community. In 2022 the broadly supported “Action Plan for Diamond Open Access” (APDOA) was published as the follow up to the OADJS to outline the most pressing issues demanding swift action from the community. APDOA argues that the Diamond Open Access “is held back by challenges related to the technical capacity, management, visibility, and sustainability of journals and platforms”.
Associated projects Developing Institutional Open Access Publishing Models to Advance Scholarly Communication (DIAMAS) and CRAFT-OA embody this action to support institutional Diamond OA publishing. While DIAMAS focusses on developing non-technical standards and best practices, CRAFT-OA specifically targets the OADJ technology development. CRAFT-OA’s Work Package 3  (WP3) is responsible for Task 3.1 providing a technical standards’ and best publishing practices overview, Task 3.2 preparing a gap  analysis to understand the challenges that OADJ’s face when aiming to comply with the standards and best practices and with/in Task 3.3 offering targeted training to narrow this gap.
This deliverable is related to the Task 3.1 and offers an overview of the technical standards and best publishing practices which is intended to be reused by the community and also to guide the gap analysis and training to be offered through WP3.
We argue that the OADJs find the current dispersion and multiplicity of requirements and standards particularly difficult both to monitor and adhere to due to the OADJs’ insufficient resources and lack of collaborative workflows. This deliverable aims to alleviate this burden through identifying key requirements and policy documents (see 2. Definition and scope), organising the standards they mention (see 4. Technical standards for each of the FAIR principles and 5. Other recommended technical standards) and showcasing best publishing practices exemplifying the implementation of standards or adherence to the requirements (see 6. Examples illustrating several or all of the basic technical standards and best publishing practices).

The scope of this deliverable is impacted by the source documents we decided to concentrate on. We focus on two policy documents: a key, widely supported OA publishing policy paper Plan S and the Extensible Quality Standard in Institutional Publishing (EQSIP) compiled in DIAMAS, and two documents originating from key service providers in the OA publishing (IPSPs): the DOAJ Seal from the Directory of Open Access Journals and the OpenAIRE Guidelines for Literature Repository Managers v4. As this report aims to contribute to the interoperability of Diamond Open Access publishing, especially in the context of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), the EOSC interoperability framework was reviewed, but no concrete standards above those mentioned in the other documents were extracted. Chapter 4. Technical standards for each of the FAIR principles represents the overview of technical standards. These documents identify in the view of how they contribute to the OADJ’s findability, accessibility, interoperability or reusability (as defined by the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR) principles). The standards expected or recommended by these documents serve as a good representation of what is now considered quality OA publishing by the community.
However, there are also other standards worth mentioning (see and 5. Other recommended technical standards) which are better suited to be discussed outside of the FAIR principles framework. We especially recognise that the larger context for OADJs is the EOSC which is developing its interoperability framework . It is important to be mindful of the interoperability challenges as they are stated in the EOSC ecosystem as onboarding of OADJ in EOSC is recognised by CRAFT-OA as the key factor for their visibility and sustainability. Additionally, as we use the FAIR principles as an important framework structuring this report we need to recognise that the FAIR principles development and implementation have their own dynamic that in some respects may not correspond to the standards development specific for the Diamond publishing. This is because while some OA publishing standards

Webinar recording: “Creating Community-Driven Pathways to Equitable Open Scholarly Publishing” | DIAMAS @ YouTube

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Three projects. Over 40 partners. One goal: Community-led Open Scholarly Publishing. EU projects CRAFT-OA, DIAMAS, and PALOMERA are working for an equitable future for scholarly communication, with academic communities at the centre. In the webinar, participants were introduced to each project and their individual aims. Following this, discussion focused on how, despite their separate focus areas, their efforts work towards a broad and common vision for a more open and equitable scholarly publishing ecosystem. CRAFT-OA empowers regional journal platforms and publishing service providers to upscale, professionalise, and reach stronger interoperability with other scientific information systems, by providing services and tools. The DIAMAS project is developing common standards, guidelines and practices to build capacity for the Diamond publishing sector. Formulating recommendations of this kind aims to create a more sustainable future for OA Diamond Publishing in Europe. PALOMERA has set out to provide actionable recommendations and concrete resources to support and coordinate aligned funder and institutional policies for Open Access books. Doing so involves assessing challenges and bottlenecks that currently slow the widespread implementation of OA book policy.

Slides available on Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/record/8070435

CRAFT-OA/DIAMAS/Palomera Webinar, June 20, 2023 | CRAFT-OA

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On June 20, 2023, CRAFT-OA will take part in a webinar in collaboration with two other HORIZON Europe-funded projects: DIAMAS and PALOMERA.

June 20, 2023 | 1 p.m CEST

The three projects work towards an equitable future for scholarly communication, with academic communities at the centre. The webinar will present this vision and introduce each project’s area of focus. The discussion will demonstrate the projects’ common goal for open and equitable scholarly publishing.

While CRAFT-OA looks at the IT systems behind journal platforms to help them upscale, professionalise, and reach stronger interoperability, DIAMAS and PALOMERA have different aims. The former focuses on developing common standards, guidelines and practices for the Diamond publishing sector. The latter, PALOMERA, is developing actionable recommendations and concrete resources to support and coordinate aligned funder and institutional policies for Open Access books.

In the session, DIAMAS will be placed in a broader context, displaying how we collaborate with other actors in the Open Access space and plan for long-term impact in the advancement of community-led publishing.

Participants will have the chance to engage with the three projects and their vision for community-driven open scholarly publishing.

Register for this webinar to be part of this conversation and help us shape the future of Open Access as a community!

REGISTER HERE!

For additional details and registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcqf-morT4jGNa5L7IaZv5TOLGu4Z1Czi4

 

WEBINAR: DIAMAS with CRAFT-OA and PALOMERA – DIAMAS

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“The three projects work towards an equitable future for scholarly communication, with academic communities at the centre. The webinar will present this vision and introduce each project’s area of focus. The discussion will demonstrate the projects’ common goal for open and equitable scholarly publishing.

While DIAMAS focuses on developing common standards, guidelines and practices for the Diamond publishing sector, CRAFT-OA and PALOMERA have different aims. The former looks at the IT systems behind journal platforms to help them upscale, professionalise, and reach stronger interoperability. The latter, PALOMERA, is developing actionable recommendations and concrete resources to support and coordinate aligned funder and institutional policies for Open Access books.

In the session, DIAMAS will be placed in a broader context, displaying how we collaborate with other actors in the Open Access space and plan for long-term impact in the advancement of community-led publishing.

Participants will have the chance to engage with the three projects and their vision for community-driven open scholarly publishing.”

Craft OA: EU-Projekt zur Förderung von Diamond Open Access (EU project to foster uptake of Diamond OA) | OPERAS-GER

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engl. version via deepl.com

    OPERAS is a consortium partner of the EU project “Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access”, short: CRAFT-OA, which started in January 2023. The project with a total of 23 partners in 14 European countries is funded by the European Commission for three years with 4.8 million euros. The project is led by the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen / Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen (SUB Göttingen).

    CRAFT-OA aims to strengthen and further develop institutional publishing in the Diamond Open Access model throughout Europe. The Diamond Open Access model means that researchers do not have to pay for the publication of scientific publications and readers do not have to pay for access to them. The special feature of CRAFT-OA is its focus on journal publishing. For this purpose, services and tools are to be developed that will enable local and regional platforms and service providers to expand their content, services and also platforms and thus achieve stronger networking with other information systems in science. For scientists in the institutional Diamond Open Access area, this means easier work.

German original:

OPERAS ist Konsortiumspartner des im Januar 2023 gestarteten EU-Projekts „Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access“, kurz: CRAFT-OA. Das Projekt mit insgesamt 23 Partnern in 14 europäischen Ländern wird von der Europäischen Kommission drei Jahre lang mit 4,8 Millionen Euro gefördert. Die Leitung liegt bei der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen / Niedersächsischen Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen (SUB Göttingen).

CRAFT-OA hat das Ziel, europaweit das institutionelle Publikationswesen im Diamond Open Access-Modell zu stärken und weiterzuentwickeln. Unter dem Diamond Open Access-Modell versteht man, dass sowohl die Forschenden für die Veröffentlichung von als auch die Lesenden für den Zugriff auf wissenschaftliche Publikationen keine Gebühren zahlen müssen. Das Besondere an CRAFT-OA ist hierbei die Spezialisierung auf das Journalpublizieren. Hierfür sollen Services und Werkzeuge entwickelt werden, die es lokalen und regionalen Plattformen und Serviceanbietern ermöglichen, ihre Inhalte, Services und auch Plattformen zu erweitern und somit eine stärkere Vernetzung mit anderen Informationssystemen in der Wissenschaft zu erreichen. Für Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler im institutionellen Diamond Open Access-Bereich bedeutet dies ein erleichtertes Arbeiten.

 

European Commission provides funding to improve Open Access publishing landscape

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“From January 2023, the University of Coimbra will be involved in another Open Science project: the CRAFT-OA project (“Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access”) involves 23 partners in 14 European countries and will last for 36 months. The project is funded under the Horizon Europe framework programme, aiming to evolve and strengthen the institutional publishing landscape of Diamond Open Access (Diamond OA): no fees for authors or readers.

By offering tangible services and tools for the entire journal publishing lifecycle, CRAFT-OA will empower local and regional platforms and service providers to extend, professionalise and achieve greater interoperability with other scientific information systems for content and platforms. These developments will help researchers and publishers involved in publishing.

The project focuses on four action strands to improve the Diamond OA model:

(1) Providing technical improvements for journal platforms and journal software.

(2) Building communities of practice to promote overall infrastructure improvement

(3) Increase the visibility, discoverability and recognition of Diamond OA publishing

(4) Integrate Diamond OA publishing with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and other large-scale data aggregators….”

Improving Diamond Open Access across Europe

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“In Diamond Open Access, there are no fees for publishing or accessing scientific publications, whether you are reading or publishing. The University of Göttingen will lead an EU project with 23 partners in 14 European countries from January 2023. The aim is to strengthen and develop institutional publishing using the Diamond Open Access model across Europe. The European Commission has funded the project “Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access (CRAFT-OA)” for three years, awarding a total of 4.8 million euros.”

Improving Diamond Open Access across Europe

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“In Diamond Open Access, there are no fees for publishing or accessing scientific publications, whether you are reading or publishing. The University of Göttingen will lead an EU project with 23 partners in 14 European countries from January 2023. The aim is to strengthen and develop institutional publishing using the Diamond Open Access model across Europe. The European Commission has funded the project “Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access (CRAFT-OA)” for three years, awarding a total of 4.8 million euros.”

“Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access” (CRAFT-OA): European Commission grants substantial funding to improve institutional publishing for science

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CRAFT-OA launch

The project “Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access” (CRAFT-OA), carried out by 23 experienced partners from 14 European countries, coordinated by the University of Göttingen, Germany will start in January 2023 and run for 36 months. Funded within the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON Europe), the project aims to equally evolve and strengthen the Diamond Open Access (Diamond OA, no fees towards authors or readers) institutional publishing landscape. By offering tangible services and tools for the entire life cycle of journal publishing CRAFT OA empowers local and regional platforms and service providers to upscale, professionalise and reach stronger interoperability with other scientific information systems for content and platforms. These developments will help researchers and editors involved in publishing.

The project focuses on four strands of action to improve the  Diamond OA model: (1) Provide technical improvements for journal platforms and journal software (2) Build communities of practice to foster overall infrastructure improvement (3) Increase visibility, discoverability and recognition for Diamond OA publishing (4) Integrate Diamond OA publishing with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and other large-scale data aggregators. Consortium partners in CRAFT-OA bring their long-standing engagement in institutional publishing and infrastructure and are committed to sustaining and developing capacities in the field. CRAFT-OA will deliver technical tools, training events, training materials, information, and services for the Diamond OA institutional publishing environment. It will foster communities of practice with the capacity to sustain the project improvements over time.

Margo Bargheer, CRAFT-OA Coordinator, University of Göttingen:

There are countless engaged open access journals out there, making a point to offer Diamond Open Access options to their communities. With our project, they will benefit from shared developments and shared services, but most of all from shared knowledge around professional institutional publishing and stronger networks to reach resilience within their own operation.

EU-Projects support scholarly publishing

CRAFT-OA is linked with other European projects supporting Diamond Open Access, especially the 3-years DIAMAS project (Developing Institutional Open Access Publishing Models to Advance Scholarly Communication). As CRAFT-OA mainly supports Diamond Open Access publishing by providing a technology update, the DIAMAS project supports Diamond Open Access on a non-technical level by building up a capacity centre and a community. The PALOMERA project (Policy Alignment of Open Access Monographs in the European Research Area) investigates institutional scholarly communication as well. Still, it concentrates on contrary to journals on books and especially policies for books. It launches in January 2023 and will run for two years.

Consortium and skills

CRAFT-OA’s 23 consortium partners from 14 European countries are all engaged in institutional publishing and infrastructure, and committed to sustaining and developing capacities in the field. A wide variety of skills and expertise is represented via the consortium partners participating in the project: 

For more information please contact the coordinator Margo Bargheer, bargheer[a]sub.uni-goettingen.de

EU Funding