This post is part of a series in which we share more about what we’re working on and what we’re learning. Read our last update.

Have a question or comment about anything you see here? Get in touch! We’d love to hear from you.

On to the update …

What we are working on:

  • Naomi Penfold, our Research Data Analyst, shared insights from a recent meeting on preprint review on sustainable business models for preprint review services. Naomi moderated a panel discussion at the recent event convened by ASAPbio, EMBO, and HHMI. Read the full event recap.
  • Our Engagement team and our partners at the West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN) are planning our upcoming workshop in mid-March in Accra, Ghana. The event aims to bring together funders, intermediaries, and open infrastructure service providers to chart common pathways for open infrastructure in Africa. More details on this page, and please email contact [at] investinopen [dot] org if you’re interested in attending.
  • We are moving forward with expanding our team! In the past weeks, we’ve been reviewing applications and conducting interviews for the Business Development and Partnerships Lead and Research Lead roles. We hope to be able to share more, soon!
  • Our research team is designing landscape studies of open infrastructure needs in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. We aim to have better insights into the areas of needs, opportunities, and stakeholders to further engagement by the end of March.
Photo by Humble Pics on Unsplash

Who we are talking to:

  • Gilbert Beyamba and Phillip Ayazika from Pollicy, a nonprofit based in Uganda working at the intersection of tech, data and design. The call was focused on learning more about how they use research, technology and the creative arts to help improve service delivery in Africa, and exploring synergies for collaboration.
  • Omo Oaiya, WACREN, to better understand the African research and scholarly communications landscape,  infrastructure needs, and opportunities. This research will help IOI deepen its research work in the Global South.
  • Raphael Sonabend, the Technology Manager in the Data for Science and Health team at the Wellcome Trust, about support for capacity building, including research software engineers and training.
  • Joe McArthur, Open Access Works, on their new product and service development as well as collaboration on analysis of funding data and trends.
  • We participated in the 3rd Open Science Conference at the United Nations in New York, discussing interventions and challenges in utilizing open science practices to achieve sustainable development goals.

What we are reading/exploring:

A list of highlights is below — for a more comprehensive view, please check out the Open Infrastructure Tracking Project (also on Twitter and now Mastodon).

Upcoming events/talks:

We look forward to meeting you at the following events!

Posted by Jerry Sellanga