In 2011-2013 EIFL provided financial support to 34 projects that implemented national and institutional open access (OA) advocacy campaigns to reach out to research communities and OA publishing initiatives.

Through small grants and support from their own institutions, the projects engaged in a wide variety of campaigns and activities, including: holding workshops, creating websites, building institutional OA repositories, creating e-learning courses, and implementing OA publishing platforms.

The case studies resulting from the projects reveal impressive first-time achievements and will help increase the availability of research literature in developing and transition countries.

Learn more about the key achievements for this national OA campaign in Slovenia below. You can access the full case study (strategies, tactics and tools, success stories and lessons learnt) by clicking on the download button.

ABOUT THE PROJECT IN SLOVENIA

In 2011, information on OA in Slovenian was scattered, and not a part of coordinated effort, but rather driven by a few individual enthusiastic advocates. In February 2011, a meeting of representatives of the largest Slovenian research institutions and libraries was organized in order to discuss this issue. It was decided by consensus that developing a web site would be the most effective and flexible instrument for the promotion of OA in Slovenia. Detailed and well-organized information at the openaccess.si web site will stimulate wider adoption of OA to publications and research data by all stakeholders for the benefit of the increased visibility of Slovenian research. To achieve this, Jožef Stefan Institute Science Information Centre implemented this EIFL-funded project.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• Launch of a national website on OA in Slovenian - OPENACCESS.SI; since launch (in October), the usage continues to grow, reaching a high of over 2,000 visits in January 2012, even before a wide systematic promotion has been carried out.
• A web site that provides users with knowledge on open availability of publicly funded research results and also assists researchers in complying with OA mandates and scientific publishers in need of guidelines and standards for OA publishing.
• The creation of an OA network consisting of thirteen major Slovenian research institutions (universities, institutes and libraries), representing almost all active researchers in the country,
• There is now a core group of OA advocates who act as an open interest group advocating for OA, and as the advisory body on OA in Slovenia.
• The project received the attention, support, and cooperation of the main national actors in R&D, including the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, the Slovenian Research Agency, and the Science and Technology Directorate at the Ministry.