MedOANet – towards coordinated Open Access policies in Mediterranean Europe

National and regional coordination of Open Access strategies, policies and structures in six Mediterranean countries – Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Turkey – is the main goal of MedOANet (Mediterranean Open Access Network), a two-year project funded under the Science in Society Programme of the EC 7th Framework Programme.

It will do so by means of strengthening, expanding and systematizing the activities of an already existing network of partners from Mediterranean Europe. MedOANet’s consortium comprises nine partners from Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK with significant expertise in Open Access issues.

MedOANet will identify strategies, structures and policies in the six countries of the Mediterranean area by carrying out surveys whose results will be mapped into an online ‘Mediterranean Open Access Tracker’, a module of the project platform just launched. This major tool will be designed as an online expandable and interoperable database, with the potential of becoming a virtual self-sustained observatory for Open Access in the Mediterranean countries and beyond.

Most significantly, MedOANet will identify and systematically engage significant policy makers and other stakeholders with the ability to affect change. This will result into an increase of awareness of key issues that require action at the policy level and will foster the conditions for coordinated policies at the national and institutional level that are currently largely lacking in these Mediterranean countries. National Task Forces will be formed and national workshops will serve as forums to debate the course of action in each country in a coordinated fashion. A European workshop will bring together key policy makers from the six countries and other European experts and will contribute towards regional coordination. MedOANet will further produce guidelines for the implementation of Open Access policies directed to key policy-makers. They will be presented and discussed at a European Conference, to be held at the end of the project.

Strategic networking with other projects and relevant international initiatives that focus on enabling Open Access to research will run through the entire project, in view of maximizing project results.

Website: http://www.medoanet.eu

Partners:

- EKT/NHRF – National Documentation Centre/National Hellenic Research Foundation, Greece http://www.ekt.gr
- FECYT - Fundacion Espanola para la Ciencia y la Tecnologia, Spain http://www.fecyt.es
- UNIVERSIDADE DO MINHO, Portugal http://www.uminho.pt
- CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France http://www.cnrs.fr
- CASPUR - Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Applicazione di
Supercalcolo per Università e Ricerca, Italy http://www.caspur.it
- HACETTEPE ÜNIVERSITESI, Turkey http://www.hun.edu.tr
- ENCES - European Network for Copyright in Support of
Education and Science, Germany http://www.ences.eu
- STICHTING LIBER, Netherlands http://www.libereurope.eu
- UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM, United Kingdom http://www.nottingham.ac.uk

Contact: Dr. Victoria Tsoukala, Project Coordinator, EKT/NHRF

Pays

Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Türkiye, United Kingdom