OpenAIRE is involved in numerous activities and events to aid and move forward the different aspects of Open Science. Among them we are investigating Open Peer Review through surveys, experiments and workshops. View a summary of our activities and parcicipate in our ongoing survey.

OA repositories are connected through regional and thematic networks. Two of the largest regional networks are OpenAIRE in Europe and LA Referencia in Latin America. Given the truly international and collaborative nature of research, these networks must also be connected and aligned around issues such as policy, technologies and services.
LA Referencia and OpenAIRE are collaborating to expand the adoption of guidelines developed through OpenAIRE in Latin America in order to demonstrate of the value of repository interoperability.

EC Press release (Brussels, 2 December 2010)

EU researchers, businesses and citizens can have free and open access to EU-funded research papers thanks to OpenAIRE (Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe), which the European Commission launched today, at the University of Ghent in Belgium. OpenAIRE will provide a network of open repositories providing free online access to knowledge produced by scientists receiving grants from the Seventh Framework programme (FP7) and European Research Council (ERC), especially in the fields of health, energy, environment, parts of Information & Communication Technology and research infrastructures, social sciences, humanities and science in society. This is an important step towards full and open access to scientific papers that could, for example, allow patients with rare illnesses to have access to the latest medical research results, or provide scientists with real-time updates about developments in their field. Developing research infrastructures and e-Infrastructures, including those for scientific research results, with a view to boosting Europe's competitiveness, is a priority of both the Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200) and of the Innovation Union initiative (see IP/10/1288 and MEMO/10/473).

Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda said: "The launch of OpenAIRE marks a very concrete step towards sharing the results of EU funded research to our mutual benefit. Scientific information has the power to transform our lives for the better – it is too valuable to be locked away. In addition, every EU citizen has the right to access and benefit from knowledge produced using public funds."

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, said: "Scientists need access to research results if they are to maximise the potential of further work in the same areas. Industry, not least SMEs, need to know where to find research results if they are to build on them to create jobs and improve the quality of life. OpenAIRE will be an important contribution to improving the circulation of scientific knowledge in Europe and thus to developing a true Innovation Union."

The Ghent Declaration, an initiative of the reviewers of the OpenAIRE project, was submitted to Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda, and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, in early January 2011. The Ghent Declaration invites the EC to take up the current opportunities for increasing the circulation of knowledge beyond the aims of the OpenAIRE initiative. It encourages a move from open access to research and scholarship towards the creation and use of open data, open source software and open educational resources. The declaration was written in the context of OpenAIRE's launch event and first year's review held on December 2-3, 2011, in Ghent, Belgium. The partners of OpenAIRE welcome the declaration and will undertake all efforts to support full deposit of articles according to the Open Access mandate.