BACKGROUND

Providing immediate, online, free and unrestricted access (open access, or OA) to the results of publicly-funded research (publications and data) has been a core strategy in the European Commission (EC) to improve knowledge circulation, and thus innovation.

In 2012, via a Recommendation, the EC encouraged all European Union (EU) member states to put publicly-funded research results in the public sphere in order to strengthen science and the knowledge-based economy. In 2014 the EC adopted a new policy covering 100% of Horizon 2020-funded research. Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme, with nearly 80 billion EUR of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020),  in addition to the private investment that this funding aims to attract. 

OVERVIEW

The PASTEUR4OA (Open Access Policy Alignment Strategies for European Union Research) supported the EC’s Recommendation to ensure OA to all outputs generated by publicly-funded research.

PASTEUR4OA developed and/or reinforced OA strategies and policies at the national level, and facilitated their coordination among all EU member states. It built a network of centres of expertise in member states. These centres developed a coordinated and collaborative programme of activities in support of policymaking at the national level under the direction of project partners.

The PASTEUR4OA project is funded by the EC.

EIFL'S MAIN ACTIVITIES

• Coordinating the Eastern European network of Key Node organizations in Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
• Building a network of centres of expertise on OA in member states, with other networks in Northern, Southern and Western Europe.
• Coordinating a collaborative programme of activities in support of policymaking at the national level.

ACHIEVEMENTS 

• The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has adopted a National Strategy of Open Access to scientific publications and research data in Slovenia 2015-2020.
• The Research Council of Lithuania has adopted Guidelines for Open Access to Research Results.
• Organized regional workshops for policy-makers to share best practices and experiences in development and implementation of OA policies, and brought together national experts and policy-makers for a final European conference.
• Created a clear template for description of OA policies for the Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies, ROARMAP.
• Studied all OA policies on ROARMAP, and produced briefing papers on effective OA policies for research funders and for research institutions.
• Advocacy resources for OA policy development and implementation were created. These resources were tailored to the needs of different countries and regions in Europe. They cover a wide range of topics expressed in different formats, including policy templates, introductory materials on OA and open science, and case-studies. Advocacy resources are  supported by visualizations of facts and figures about OA policies worldwide.

TIMELINE

1 February 2014 - 31 August 2016.

PROJECT PARTNERS