Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) is proud to welcome Crossref as the latest member of the IOI Sustaining Circle — a collective of organizations committed to financially supporting IOI’s mission of increasing investment and adoption of sustainable open research infrastructures worldwide.
Crossref's decision to join the Sustaining Circle reflects a relationship built on shared values and a belief in collaboration over competition. Both IOI and Crossref have worked to advance open infrastructure discovery, investment, and adoption.
As foundational infrastructure, Crossref metadata is used by the majority of tools and services listed in the Infra Finder –IOI's tool for surfacing market intelligence that helps funders, institutions, and communities make more informed decisions about adopting and investing in open infrastructure, where Crossref is also listed. Their funding metadata has also been critical in analyzing funding trends in the IOI State of Open Infrastructure report.
Beyond shared tooling, both organizations are actively working in complementary ways to shape a more connected and equitable research ecosystem worldwide. IOI's Fund for Network Adoption and Crossref's Global Equitable Membership (GEM) program both reflect a commitment to ensuring that institutions in developing economies can meaningfully contribute to the global commons, not just access it. Crossref joining the Sustaining Circle strengthens this alignment and underscores the importance of collaborative investment in the open infrastructure that research communities depend on.
"As a peer organization in the open research ecosystem, we have great admiration for the work IOI does by providing valuable tools, research, and strategies to increase investment and adoption in open infrastructure. Open infrastructures are not free; as adopters and advocates of the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure (POSI), we wanted to play our part in ensuring IOI continues to make an impact supporting the sustainability of open infrastructures worldwide," said Ginny Hendricks, Crossref's Chief Program Officer.
Why join the Sustaining Circle?
Becoming a member of IOI’s Sustaining Circle means joining a diverse community of universities, philanthropies, commercial publishers, national research funders, and non-profits working together to advance investment in and adoption of open infrastructure for scholarly research.
“We are delighted that Crossref has chosen to contribute towards IOI’s mission to make open the default in research. As an organization, we always emphasize the need for coordinated efforts and their support is crucial to the tools and resources that we provide to help inform a stronger, open, and connected global research ecosystem,” remarked Emma Green, IOI’s Director of Development.
Sustaining Circle members are vital to furthering IOI's targeted research that guides academic and research institutions, commercial publishers, and funders, and support the development of strategic tools that help decision-makers discover, evaluate, and invest in sustainable, community-governed open infrastructures.
In addition, Sustaining Circle membership signals something important: It marks your organization as a leader in the movement centered on community-governed scholarly infrastructure, one that actively shapes how knowledge is created, shared, and preserved. Direct benefits for Sustaining Circle members include early invitations to IOI events, opportunities to influence IOI's research agenda, first access to new research and analysis, and placement on IOI's website and in our annual impact report.
Ready to support the adoption and sustainability of open infrastructures?
If your organization is committed to building sustainable, community-led infrastructure and wants to help shape the direction of global open research, the IOI Sustaining Circle is where that work happens. We'd love to talk about what membership could look like for you. Reach out to Emma Green, our Director of Development, at emma@investinopen.org.