2015 Regional Workshops

CGIAR Open Access and Open Data Implementation Workshops

In November of 2013, all 15 members of the CGIAR Consortium unanimously adopted the CGIAR Open Access and Data Management Policy. The Policy commits CGIAR to making publications, data, and other completed information products openly and freely accessible with minimum restrictions on re-use. CGIAR strongly believes this clear commitment to Open Access and Open Data (OA-OD) will improve the efficiency, efficacy, and impact of its research and that OA-OD will allow the global public to further benefit from the wealth of CGAR research.

As part of the first phase of Consortium-wide implementation, focused on planning and assessing current implementation, all members of the CGIAR Consortium are expected to have active Open Access implementation plans in place. The goal is to achieve this first milestone by Q3 of 2015. In order to reach this goal, a series of three regional workshops will be held in order to support Centers’ efforts in drafting their plans and working together to discuss key issues at this stage of Consortium-wide implementation. Topics will include: Center-specific strategies for and approaches to implementation; the technical infrastructure supporting OA-OD; workflows to support researchers’ implementation efforts; intellectual property and open licenses; staffing and financial administration; and strategies for assessing and tracking progress.

The second priority is assessment, specifically, conducting an in-depth assessment and analysis of the current state of OA-OD across CGIAR Member Centers. In preparation for the workshop, participants will complete a survey – in collaboration with other members of their local teams – in order to help capture the current state of adoption, implementation, and compliance.