The project P2P.OA.HAW has started the first test run of the peer-to-peer strategy consulting on open access with two universities of applied sciences
November 2023 saw the launch of the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI) and University of Konstanz (UKon) project "Peer-to-Peer-Strategieberatung für Hochschulleitungen als Werkzeug zur Etablierung einer gelebten Open-Access-Kultur an Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften" [Peer-to-Peer Strategy Consulting for University Managers as a Tool for Establishing a Lived Culture of Open Access at Universities of Applied Sciences] (P2P.OA.HAW). The aim of the project is to reuse the tried-and-tested concept of peer-to-peer strategy consulting, which was developed by the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung (HFD) to support digitalisation in teaching and learning, and to further develop it for the area of open access at universities of applied sciences (HAW).
The organisation of structures, processes, and strategies for open access is challenging for many scientific institutions. This applies all the more to universities of applied sciences, as many of them have begun establishing and expanding their open access activities only in recent years and are facing their own strategic, structural, and financial challenges as a result. At the same time, creating strategic frameworks and making organisation-related structural adaptations for an open-access-friendly future calls for control activities at university management level.
In the strategy-consulting process in the framework of the P2P.OA.HAW project, two universities of applied sciences are being supported over a period of around eight months in identifying their own development goals in the area of open access and in planning and implementing corresponding development paths. The knowledge gained in the consulting rounds in the years 2024 and 2025 will be incorporated into a concept for the long-term establishment of peer-to-peer strategy consulting for open access.
Together It's Easier
The first major milestone in the project has been reached! Following the call for expressions of interest issued in December 2023, the first two universities of applied sciences have been selected for the test run in 2024. They are:
The University of Applied Sciences Jena is the most research-intensive university of applied sciences in the federal state of Thuringia. It offers a very broad range of subjects – from business administration, through engineering, medical technology and biotechnology, and health and nursing, to social work. Thanks to its own open access project, "Open Access at Universities of Applied Sciences – Acceptance and Communication" (see Open Access Kultur an der EAH Jena [Open Access Culture at the University of Applied Sciences Jena]), which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the University of Applied Sciences Jena has the resources not only to make optimal use of the consulting process but also to become a competence centre for the region in the future:
Open access has become a key issue at the University of Applied Sciences Jena to strengthen and promote our research focus. As the most research- and publication-intensive university of applied sciences in Thuringia, we are just getting our own open access strategy off the ground, and we see great potential to further promote this important issue. Therefore, we are actively participating in the peer-to-peer strategy consulting on open access. Through exchange and cooperation with other universities of applied sciences that have already successfully implemented open access, we want to gain valuable insights and experiences.
– Henrieke Walter, OA-HAW(C) project team member, University of Applied Sciences Jena (translated from the German)
With students from 125 nations and around 75% English-language study programmes, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences is exceptionally internationally oriented. It has a strong and interdisciplinary research profile in the areas of technology and bionics, life sciences, society and economics, and communication and environment. In the context of the University Development Plan 2030, the already considerable initial achievements in the areas of open access in services, financing, and infrastructure will be strengthened and linked to the outcomes of neighbouring projects, such as TransRegINT and FDMScouts.nrw.
Sustainability and transformation are the main themes in research, teaching, and knowledge transfer at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. We are convinced that open access to scientific knowledge fuels its reuse in science, society, and industry and paves the way for the implementation of innovative solutions for common challenges of our time. Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences therefore supports its members with a broad portfolio of information offerings and funding structures in the area of open access. Our goal in participating in P2P.OA.HAW is to put this portfolio on a solid footing for the future by sounding out strategic and operative possibilities for further development in light of the best practices of experienced peers. As an overarching issue, open access opens up many links to other areas of open science and can thus itself provide an impetus – also as part of the strategy of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in research, teaching, and knowledge transfer.
– Martin Reiter, Head of the Publication Management Department at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (translated from the German)
Interactively Getting to Know Each Other and Analysing Needs
P2P.OA.HAW is keen to ensure that the universities of applied sciences participating in the project do not have to pursue their objectives alone but rather can benefit from an exchange of information and experiences among themselves. Thus, at the first accompanying event, the two universities not only got to know the P2P.OA.HAW project team but also had an opportunity to engage in discussion with each other and to identify common hurdles, by asking, for example: How is the other university of applied sciences overcoming its current challenges? Where can my institution be an example of successful problem solving?
Next Step: Selection of the Peers for Individual Development Needs
To enable each university of applied sciences to tackle its individual process of change in the area of open access in a tailor-made manner, open access experts are needed who, in addition to their professional expertise, are also familiar with the viewpoint of the university. These peers will act as "critical friends": In a structured process, managers of universities of applied sciences will be accompanied and advised on a peer-to-peer basis by managers of other universities or scientific institutions. P2P.OA.HAW will bring the two sides together and coordinate the consulting procedure. The peers will be selected from the experienced open-access.network community and beyond in close consultation with the participating universities.
We congratulate the selected universities and look forward to working with them in the coming months!
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0).
