Open access baseline activity tool

We are pleased to release our baseline of current OA activity within our institutions as a way of identifying areas that require attention, and also to highlight where there has been progress as we move towards April 2016.  A Google spreadsheet has been created to capture this information, which will be updated every six months by the project partners.  This spreadsheet is openly shared under a CC-BY licence at the link below for information.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MN7Qw_wlU2LMGnlcmjzgufJZuhzL6F_ay4lhcQEGKv8/edit#gid=0

The spreadsheet is made available openly also as a tool that other institutions may wish to use to establish their own baselines and help identify progress based on this.  The University of Glasgow has added their information, and the HHuLOA project invites other institutions to do the same.  In doing so, a picture of activity across the sector will be gathered, which can usefully inform sector-wide issues and highlight where additional effort outside of institutions may be merited.  The data can usefully be applied to local initiatives as well: seeing what is happening elsewhere need not be a matter of guilt, but could be a chance to make a business case based on progress at the competition!  It is not intended that any institution-specific analysis will take place – this is simply a resource for being open about our work on open access.  Editing for any specific institution entry can be limited to individuals through the protected range facility in Google Sheets if desired.

The HHuLOA partners completed their initial entries in the autumn, and we will be capturing our first update in March.  It is suggested that institutions wishing to make use of the tool start their entries from March 2015 to align the status of activity across institutions going forward.  The spreadsheet covers many areas that we considered affected by open access, but should take no more than 30 minutes to complete.  The more data gathered, the more valuable it will be!

Feedback on the tool is very welcome, and enhancements will be made where useful.