SPARC Europe undertakes a number of activities aimed to support the research community in bringing positive change to scholarly communications. Our main areas of activity are:
- Open access repositories. We encourage the development of OA repositories for the work of scholars.
- The Budapest Open Access Initiative. We support its aims by co-operating with individuals and organisations committed to Open Access to research publications. SPARC Europe also supports the Open Archives Initiative and is part of the CERN OAI Workshop Series’ Organising Committee.
- Scholar-led journal publishing initiatives. SPARC Europe supports the SPARC Declaring Independence programme through key members of editorial boards based at European institutions.
- Innovative digital publishing enterprises and models that advance fundamental scholarly objectives and values. SPARC Europe helps in the development of new economic models and services that provide for open or affordable access to scholarship. We aid in development of project plans, provide guidance to addressing the institutional marketplace, and promote worthwhile developments to SPARC Europe members and beyond.
- The creation and use of Open Access tools by promoting and supporting the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR).
- We encourage discussion of issues identified on the Create Change web site and a companion brochure.
- We present at European scholarly communications events with the aim to raise awareness of our work and of the limitations of current scholalry communications models; to propose new alternative models; to keep SPARC Europe members up-to-date, give a common view of the European Open Access Landscape and broader participation in the process of change by attracting new members.
SPARC Europe Programmes and Activities
- Substantial advocacy and lobby work through presentations & articles and through participation in stakeholders meetings;
- SPARC Europe Award: yearly we ask our network to nominate organization for their outstanding achievements in scholarly communications that benefit Open Access
- Co-chair the CERN Workshop on Innovations in Scholarly Communications (OAI)
- Supported the founding of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ);
- Co-ordinated a petition to the European Commission in support of Open Access. The petition was signed by over 20.000 individuals and organizations;
- Co-founders of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA);
- Launched the SPARC Europe Seal for Open Access Journals together with the DOAJ. The seal aims to encourage journal editors to use two best practices for Open Access journals: the CC-BY licence and submit article metadata to the DOAJ.
We work together with a core group or partner organization that are active in the Open Access Movement. Learn more …
