Okay, based on the information you provided (the Current Awareness Portal entry about OPERAS publishing its 2024 annual report), and drawing on general knowledge about OPERAS and similar organizations, here’s a detailed article written in an easy-to-understand manner:
OPERAS Unveils 2024 Annual Report, Highlighting Open Access Progress in the Social Sciences and Humanities
[City, Date] – OPERAS, the European Research Infrastructure dedicated to open scholarly communication in the social sciences and humanities (SSH), has released its 2024 annual report. Published on June 20, 2025, according to the Current Awareness Portal, the report outlines OPERAS’ achievements, activities, and future goals in fostering a more open and collaborative research environment within the SSH disciplines.
What is OPERAS?
For those unfamiliar, OPERAS acts as a vital hub for researchers, libraries, publishers, and universities involved in SSH research. Its primary mission is to coordinate and promote open access (OA) publishing practices across Europe and beyond. This includes:
- Supporting open access journals and books: OPERAS helps these publications become more visible, sustainable, and aligned with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles.
- Developing infrastructure and services: OPERAS creates shared tools and platforms that make it easier for researchers to discover, access, and reuse scholarly content. This might include platforms for publishing, discovery services, and repositories.
- Advocating for open science policies: OPERAS works to influence policy at the national and European levels to promote open access as a standard practice in SSH research.
- Building a community: OPERAS fosters collaboration among SSH stakeholders through workshops, conferences, and other networking activities.
Key Highlights Expected in the 2024 Report (Based on Previous Reports and OPERAS Activities):
While the specific contents of the 2024 report aren’t available without accessing the actual document, we can anticipate some key areas of focus based on OPERAS’ previous work and current trends:
- Expansion of the OPERAS Network: The report is likely to showcase the growth of the OPERAS consortium, detailing new members and partnerships from across Europe and potentially globally. A larger network means a stronger voice in advocating for open access and greater resources for supporting its initiatives.
- Progress on the GO FAIR Initiative: OPERAS has been actively involved in promoting FAIR data principles. The report might highlight how OPERAS is helping SSH researchers and publishers implement FAIR practices in their workflows.
- Development of New Services and Tools: Expect updates on the development and refinement of OPERAS’s infrastructure and services. This could include new features on existing platforms or the launch of entirely new tools to support open access publishing and discovery.
- Engagement with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC): As EOSC continues to develop, OPERAS is playing a crucial role in ensuring that the specific needs of SSH researchers are addressed within the broader open science ecosystem. The report may describe OPERAS’ contributions to EOSC and how it is connecting SSH communities to the EOSC infrastructure.
- Impact Measurement: The report will probably include data and analysis on the impact of OPERAS’ activities. This could involve metrics on the number of open access publications supported, the reach of OPERAS services, and the overall influence of OPERAS on open access policies.
- Sustainability and Funding: A key challenge for any research infrastructure is ensuring its long-term sustainability. The report will likely address OPERAS’ funding model and efforts to secure resources for future activities.
- Addressing specific challenges within SSH: SSH disciplines often face unique challenges regarding open access, such as language diversity, the importance of book publishing, and the protection of intellectual property rights. The report might outline OPERAS’ efforts to address these specific challenges.
Why This Matters:
The release of OPERAS’ annual report is significant because it provides valuable insights into the progress being made towards open scholarly communication in the social sciences and humanities. Open access is crucial for:
- Increased access to knowledge: Open access removes paywalls, making research freely available to anyone with an internet connection, regardless of their institutional affiliation or location.
- Faster dissemination of research: Open access can accelerate the pace of scientific discovery by making research findings available more quickly and widely.
- Greater collaboration: Open access fosters collaboration by enabling researchers to easily share their work and build upon the findings of others.
- Increased impact: Open access can increase the impact of research by making it more visible and accessible to a wider audience.
- Transparency and reproducibility: Open access promotes transparency and reproducibility by making research data and methods openly available.
Where to Find the Report:
The OPERAS 2024 annual report is likely available on the OPERAS website (likely at operas-eu.org, but check for the official URL). The Current Awareness Portal provides a valuable signal for its release.
Conclusion:
OPERAS plays a vital role in advancing open access in the social sciences and humanities. The 2024 annual report promises to be a valuable resource for anyone interested in the future of scholarly communication in these disciplines. By supporting open access journals and books, developing infrastructure and services, and advocating for open science policies, OPERAS is helping to create a more open, collaborative, and impactful research environment. We encourage anyone interested in open access in SSH to read the report and engage with the OPERAS community.
The AI has delivered the news.
The following question was used to generate the response from Google Gemini:
At 2025-06-20 09:08, ‘OPERAS、2024年の年次報告書を公開’ was published according to カレントアウェアネス・ポータル. Please write a detailed article with related information in an easy-to-understand manner. Please answer in English.
794