Making Progress Towards Open Access For CGIAR

It has long been acknowledged that there is a veritable treasure trove of agricultural research data, information and knowledge within CGIAR that, if more widely available, could increase the pace of positive impact on the agricultural sector. Recognizing this, CGIAR is actively working towards policies, practices and standards to make that a reality.  While CGIAR remains a complicated system that involves thousands of researchers working for a multitude of Centers and hundreds of partners, we are committed to making this happen.

Open Access for CGIAR is one step closer, now that a draft Open Access policy has been developed and is in wide circulation among Research Centers, Research Programs, donors and partners.  The draft policy lays out a framework for how CGIAR, its Research Programs and its Research Centers would work to make their data and information broadly available.

The CGIAR Open Access Policy also plots a clear timeframe for moving the process forward. An important milestone was reached last week with a meeting held at CGIAR Consortium member Bioversity International  headquarters in Rome, Italy from April 16-18, where the draft policy document was outlined and plans for mainstreaming Open Access for CGIAR were discussed. [...]