EKT and the Public Knowledge Project Announce Strategic Partnership

The National Documentation Centre (EKT) is strengthening its collaboration with the international initiative Public Knowledge Project (PKP) through a series of actions which aim to improve the quality of scientific publications.The long-standing co-operation between EKT and the PKP initiative was further strengthened following the signing of a memorandum of co-operation between the two institutions. 

The PKP is an international non-profit initiative which aims to improve the quality of scientific publications and promote Open Access to results of publicly funded research. Its key action is developing open software platforms for the conversion of scientific journals to electronic form, with Open Access to their content. The Public Knowledge Project was established in 1998 at the University of British Columbia. Since that time PKP has expanded and evolved into an international and virtual operation with two institutional anchors at Stanford University and Simon Fraser University Library.

Two of the software platforms available are OJS – Open Journal Systems for journals and OMP – Open Monograph Press for books, both of which ePublishing EKT uses. Open Journal Systems (OJS) is an open source software made feely available to journals worldwide for the purpose of making Open Access publishing a viable option, and intensifying impact on and contribution to the dissemination of knowledge on a global scale.

EKT is one of the most active strategic partners of the international Public Knowledge Project, participating in work that supports editing software for open access journals OJS, contributing to its development and translation into Greek. EKT has provided code contributions and Greek language translations for OJS over the past several years. 

More recently EKT has participated in the Hirmeos project (High Integration of Research Monographs in the European Open Science infrastructure) with OMP being one of the five monograph publishing platforms being used. EKT is also one of the international nodes participating in the PKP Preservation Network. The formal relationship not only acknowledges these recent collaborations but will also provide a foundation for new initiatives going forward.

Referring to the memorandum of co-operation PKP and EKT signed in May 2018, Brian Owen, Managing Director PKP, stated. “EKT has been a stalwart supporter and user of PKP’s software and is a great example of capacity building not just nationally but also regionally.  PKP is excited to work with EKT/NHRF on initiatives that will improve scholarly communication and further open access.”

Speaking for EKT, its Director Evi Sachini said, “Τhis strategic partnership is an acknowledgment of our fruitful longlasting collaboration with PKP and opens up new opportunities in our common goal to furthering Open Science. Strengthening our ties with PKP will enable us to support open scholarly communication with the most advanced technology”.

Professor John Willinsky, Director of PKP participated in the international conference for ‘Open Scholarly Communication in Europe: Addressing the Coordination Challenge’ which was co-organised by the National Documentation Centre (EKT) on 31 May and 1 June 2018 in Athens under the auspices of the European network OPERAS. In his interview with EKT, he talked about the dynamics and prospects of Open Access to research results and the benefits of publishing scientific journals in a digital environment. He also presented the Public Knowledge Project’s vision for the near future and the actions for the development of an international network with open platforms for publishing scientific journals.