Knowledge Exchange: Open Access and European Collaboration

1. Knowledge Exchange – scholarly and scientific information openly available on the internet –

2. This presentation Knowledge Exchange Context and Challenges Ambitions and Priorities Common Interest US & Europe The presenter Bas Cordewener manager international collaboration, SURFfoundation cordewener@surf.nl JISC-CNI, Belfast

3. Introduction • Initiative established in 2005 • Members are four organisations which have responsibility for technology development in education and research within their nations • Purpose is to add value to current activities; to increase return on investment of funding partners; and to improve quality of learning and teaching and research • Method isstructural knowledge exchange facilitated by staff; stimulate expert networks and co-ordinated activities; exchange strategies; explore policy opportunities to ’speak with one voice’ JISC-CNI, Belfast

4. Strategic Vision To make a layer of scholarly and scientific content openly available on the Internet (October 2006, Berlin) • building an integrated repository infrastructure • exploring new developments in the future of publishing • facilitating integrated management services within education and research institutions • supporting the European digital libraries agenda JISC-CNI, Belfast

5. Achievements Collaboration makes a difference • promoting Open Access via a petition to the European Commission • exploring new content packages and innovative business and license models Community became involved • experts working groups exchange and recommend • participation from partner countries, across Europe and beyond Effective brokerage, sharing and exchange • studies, networks, trends, stratregies • comparing approaches, procedures, programmes JISC-CNI, Belfast

6. Examples of community activities Open Access • establishing an European evidence base of economics of Open Access • promoting (the principles) of the License to Publish and License to Depot • workshop for OA friendly publishers to improve transition-to-OA expertise • participation of SPARC Europe Access Management • regular exchanges and updates about national developments • establishing (con)federations – encouraging publishers to join • promote use of SAML 2.0 (simpleSAMLphp) Institutional Repositories • joint projects/actions on Enhanced Publications (e-theses & dissertations); CRIS-OAR interoperability; Persistent Identifiers • participation of France, Sweden, Australia, Norway JISC-CNI, Belfast

7. European context Aim is to transform the 23 countries in one transparent economic entity and information society Requirements • interoperable and open areas for business, education, research, information • flexibility and mobility of people, goods, work and information Policy drivers • Bologna Declaration (1999) Bachelor Masters, mutual accreditation, quality assurance to support student mobility and educational flexibility • Lisbon Strategy (2000) Europe aims to be a competitve and dynamic Knowledge Economy • Berlin Declaration (2003) all university research output should be made openly available to the public JISC-CNI, Belfast

8. European impact Positive developments • Bologna Declaration national approaches are harmonising at great speed • Berlin Declaration and EU projects like DRIVER a European approach to ownership of publicly funded knowledge is emerging • EC significantly funds activities in Technology, Education and Research Challenge • coordination • national impact • sustainability Realisation of a European e-infrastructure for Education and Research might benefit from being closer informed by national policy; broader consultation needed JISC-CNI, Belfast

9. European technology infrastructure? • there is no blueprint for a European technology infrastructure • in semi-federated Europe, research approaches, infrastructures and governance are diverse and not easily aligned • diversity in available resources and expertise impacts the capacity and quality of existing national IT infrastructures • existing national organisations influencing IT infrastructure policy should be involved • researchers, as good pioneers, individually have less intrinsic interest to care for a generic technology infrastructure Above are drivers for establishing Knowledge Exchange JISC-CNI, Belfast

10. Knowledge Exchange with ambition Potential • at similar level of IT infrastructure provision • leaders in technology infrastructure development • able to share and develop in thought and action • growing confidence to align strategies and speak with one voice Approach 2008-2010 • continued structural exchanges for mutual benefit • focus on new priority areas (next slide) • provide a source of expertise that can help shape policy of EU. JISC-CNI, Belfast

11. Future Priorities Virtual Research Environments • understand the many layers and interaction (GRID, collaboratories, data manipulation) • focus on generic approaches, researchers needs, transnational ERA structures Primary Research Data • involve various stakeholders in dialogue, raise awareness for preservation and access • define challenges and changing roles, develop strategic policy European Digital Library • inform partner investment in and support to digital libraries in order to develop • strategies for content creation, including digitisation. • registries of digital collections and services • interoperability frameworks EC interaction • frequent dialogue on relevant issues, contributing to the strategic planning cycle • inform each other, so potentially strengthen European and national programmes JISC-CNI, Belfast

12. US and Europe shared objectives Improve the user experience for US and EU scholars • no limits to mobility, flexibility • no limits to accessibility • to increase quality Better serve the economical and societal needs • integrated teaching & learning and research environments • better, faster research development and productive use • better educated workforce Increase the return on investment in shaping the technology infrastructure • build upon each others creativity, expertise and experiences • effective and efficient use of resources • provide options for and anticipate on interoperability JISC-CNI, Belfast

13. US and Europe common interests (1) • Bachelor Master system EU harmonisation includes • accreditation • European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), • Diploma Supplement • European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) quality reference framework Towards a global standard ? • Federations National federations develop in many EU countries, concerning • public and private service and content providers • evolvement into federations of federations • registration bodies and definitions of levels of trust. Trust development between US and Europe axis is essential ? JISC-CNI, Belfast

14. US and Europe common interests (2) • International developments • Open Access principles / business models) development; • National and/or Institutional Repository interoperability standards development Now is the time for alignment ? • International governance & quality management • a transparent environment (e.g. Repositories, Open Access, Federations, IPR) for stakeholders and actors that increasingly operate globally and need to work together • encouragement for inspiring innovations is still needed (User Services, Business Models, Data Control) - developments have not yet reached their full potential • build stability, manage expectations, define roles for service providers, information and content providers, registration organisations; identity and security levels This can only be achieved crossing KE, EU, and US borders ? JISC-CNI, Belfast

15. Questions or comments? More information on Knowledge Exchange website: www.knowledge-exchange.info JISC-CNI, Belfast