Enabling Open Scholarship for 'big science'

Enabling Open Scholarship (EOS) launched on September 23rd 2009

Here is notice of an important landmark development. The statement from the launch announcement says:

“As we rapidly approach 100 formal, mandatory, policies on Open Access from universities, research institutes and research funders a group of senior directors of universities and research institutes have come together to launch a new forum for the promotion of the principles and practices of open scholarship.

The aim of Enabling Open Scholarship (EOS) is to further the opening up of scholarship and research that we are now seeing as a natural part of ‘big science’ and through the growing interest from the research community in open access, open education, open science and open innovation. These, and other, 'open' approaches to scholarship are changing the way research and learning is done and will be performed in the future.

Enabling Open Scholarship (EOS) provides the higher education and research sectors around the world with information on developments and with advice and guidance on implementing policies and processes that encourage the opening up of scholarship. It also provides a forum for discussion and debate amongst its members and will be taking that discussion into the wider community.”

For more, see and the EOS Home page at home

Open Scholarship – Open Science – Open Source – Open Access – it is remarkable how the approach to sharing and using research data has changed from what was considered a way-out concept to becoming established practice. EOS is a response to formalizing and advancing what is now our way of working and its launch marks an important stage in global research development.

eIFL countries continue to make impressive OA progress!

Thanks to eIFL, we learn that 26 rectors of universities in the Ukraine endorsed the Olvia Declaration that includes academic freedom, university autonomy and the role of science and education for sustainable development.

Academic freedom includes open access to research information through the development of open repositories and open access journals, enabling the free communication of researchers in the Ukraine with peers around the world.
In Article 2.11 of the Action Plan on implementing the Olvia declaration, it is stated:
“To practice open access to knowledge Universities and research organizations should:
• develop institutional polices and strategies on open access (free and unrestricted access to full text peer reviewed research results), provide access to, search and usage of the above mentioned works by the faculty to every internet user to increase scientific, social and economic impact of the research;
• launch and develop open institutional repositories and open access journals;
• encourage open use of this information for research and education.”

This follows on from the Belgorod Declaration to stimulate and support open access to scientific knowledge and cultural heritage endorsed by 10 rectors of universities of the CIS countries in May 2009, as reported in this blog on July 10th.

eIFL and its partner colleagues in the Ukraine are greatly to be congratulated for achieving this important step towards global research communication.

Photo from eIFL newsletter, with thanks.