PASTEUR4OA/The Knowledge Net
One of the main aims of the PASTEUR4OA Project was to establish, nurture and build a sustainable future for a network of expert organisations across Europe that could continue the project’s OA (Open Access) policy work after the end of the funding period. This network is called the Knowledge Net.
The Knowledge Net is composed of an expert organisation in each country that has the authority and expertise to engage with policymakers, provide them with information, share best practices and offer guidance and advice where appropriate. These Knowledge Net member organisations are called Key Nodes.
The overall mission of the Knowledge Net has been to promote the development, adoption and implementation of Open Access policies that are aligned with the OA policy for Horizon 2020 by research funders and research institutions.
The Knowledge Net was set up with a set of aims regarding OA policy-related activities, as follows:
• Coordinate activities that lead to OA policy development, implementation and reinforcement in its member states
• Promote cooperation between OA experts (Key Nodes)
• Share best practices and provide information and support on OA policy-making and on OA policy related issues to national policymakers
• Provide individually-tailored advice and support to national policymakers as it is acknowledged that European countries and organisations within those countries (governments, research institutions and research funders) are at different stages in terms of development and maturity of their OA policies and will therefore have distinct requirements
• Coordinate advocacy activities that promote to the development and reinforcement of effective and aligned OA policies
A number of potential candidate organisations were identified and research was carried out to establish how they are governed, what their strategies are and their own sustainability models. After due consideration, OpenAIRE was identified as the most suitable organisation to look after the Knowledge Net in future. The two projects share strategic and tactical aims and have a common structure that would make embedding the Knowledge Net into OpenAIRE a relatively simple logistical process, especially since around half of OpenAIRE’s NOADs are also PASTEUR4OA Key Nodes and vice versa. Discussions have taken place between PASTEUR4OA and OpenAIRE and agreement has been reached on how to proceed with the process of embracing the Knowledge Net and its policy-related aims into openAIRE’s operations. OpenAIRE will lead a European-wide Open Access strategy based on three pillars: policy, advocacy and infrastructure.
Regarding the next steps, EKT (PASTEUR4OA coordinator and policy coordinator within OpenAIRE) will elaborate further on the description of NOAD activities and tasks in collaboration with OpenAIRE’s scientific coordinator and the project’s regional coordinators to enable the policy-related activities to progress at full speed from September 2016 onwards.
