Knowledge Exchange news

Welcome to the first Knowledge Exchange (KE) newsletter of 2019! 

The purpose of Knowledge Exchange is to exchange knowledge, build expert networks and cooperate between partners, with special a focus on Open Access and Open Scholarship. KE has an open eye for emerging opportunities to enhance and support an open higher education and research infrastructure.

Three more years of Knowledge Exchange have started!

The six partner organisations of Knowledge Exchange have agreed to continue their unique and successful collaboration for another three years. This means that the many experts gathered in expert groups and task & finish groups will continue to explore important issues in the areas of Open Access and Open Scholarship.

During the second half of 2018, several activities were in progress that are now nearing completion, such as the work on OA Monographs and on the Economy of Open Scholarship. As a matter of fact, in the first half of 2019 we expect several publications to see the light! Read on for more details including a list of our current activities and the phase/state they are in.

Insights to the Economy of Open Scholarship: A Collection of Interviews

Following the report Knowledge Exchange Approach to Open Scholarship and in line with the recommendations resulting from the workshop Moving from Ambition to Reality, KE is exploring the Economy of Open Scholarship, through two, interconnected activities; one conceptual, one practical.

The first results from the practical activity, titled 'Insights into the Economy of Open Scholarship: A Collection of Interviews' is now available. In this activity we have collected examples which illustrate how pioneering initiatives set up and operate new or alternative business models in the area of Open Scholarship. 

The first three of these interviews with Jessica Polka, ASAPbio; Martin Paul Eve, the Open Library of Humanities; and Jadranka Stojanovski, HRČAK are now available on the KE website. Knowledge Exchange plans to publish the full collection of interviews in summer 2019.

Find out more

Further Knowledge Exchange work on Open Scholarship & Open Access 

Open Scholarship

During September 2018, we worked with a group of experts to develop a conceptual view on the Economy of Open Scholarship. We wrote a book 'Open Scholarship and the need for collective action' using a book sprint; a method of creating a book collaboratively in a short period of time.

The writing of this book was motivated by the concern that the transition to more open forms of scholarship is moving too slowly. Its aim is to investigate possibilities for removing barriers and malfunctioning structures by enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms that are crucial to enable open scholarship to reach its full potential. To do so, the authors looked at the current landscape of open scholarship in the wider research environment through the lenses of various models, frameworks and theories, with a strong focus on history, economics, social structures, politics and the potential for collective action. We are currently editing and refining the conclusions of the book, to share with you later in 2019.

Also under the Open Scholarship umbrella we are working on an ‘Openness Profile’; an approach that will make it easier to recognise and reward essential contributions to open research that are not part of current research(er) evaluation practice. A group of experts has laid the groundwork, and we’re now planning to engage stakeholders, refine the approach and identify an implementation plan.

Open Access

Apart from being the platform where experts exchange the developments regarding Open Access in the KE member countries and beyond, the KE OA expert group initiated and nurtures a number of activities:

An extensive survey on OA Monographs was held in Spring 2018 followed by a stakeholder workshop in Brussels in November to discuss the implications, outcomes and possible actions to facilitate and support the open dissemination of scholarly monographs. A full report from this workshop, including the survey outcomes and suggestions how stakeholders can help to improve the position of OA Monographs, is expected in April.

Other activities have also started; experts are exploring the impact of OA Preprints on research and intermediary outcomes will become available in early Spring. As part of KE’s work on OA Monitoring, a comparison of publishers’ compliance to agreed OA enabling is underway, following the publication and dissemination of the ‘Knowledge Exchange consensus on monitoring Open Access publications and cost data’ report since April 2018.

Other news 

Changes to Knowledge Exchange Staff

Herbert Gruttemeier, representative of CNRS in KEG retired in May 2018, he was replaced by Jean-François Nominé. Christian Hagen-Thomasen has left DEFF, and therefore KEG, just before summer. The new Danish representative in the KE Group is Anna Mette Morthorst. Riina Salmivalli from CSC has moved on to other commitments and was succeeded as KE representative by Josefine Nordling.

Thank you & best wishes!

Feedback or comments on this newsletter? You can contact us at office@knowledge-exchange.info or visit our website