Special Interest Groups
What are OPERAS Special Interest Groups?
OPERAS Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are a key component of the OPERAS engine. Owing to their close engagement with the community, SIGs are well positioned to identify emerging needs, challenges, and opportunities across the scholarly communication landscape. These insights can then be addressed through OPERAS projects and the development of new services. SIGs also provide an important forum for feedback, helping to assess whether OPERAS activities effectively respond to community needs.
SIGs work collaboratively to exchange knowledge, monitor developments in their respective areas, and prepare project initiatives. Each SIG is coordinated by one or more contact points representing an OPERAS Core Member. All Ordinary Members are required to participate in at least one SIG, although membership is open to all OPERAS members regardless of category. In addition, SIG coordinators may invite external participants to contribute to their activities. In this way, SIGs also serve as an entry point for new members and stakeholders wishing to engage with OPERAS.
Within the OPERAS governance structure, the Special Interest Groups collectively form the Assembly of the Commons, which is designed to foster broad engagement with the diversity of the OPERAS community.
All SIGs contribute to a shared roadmap, a lightweight planning tool that supports the definition and coordination of annual activities. The roadmap provides a framework for groups to articulate their objectives, identify synergies, and explore opportunities for collaboration. It also helps SIGs better define their needs and, consequently, receive more targeted support from OPERAS bodies. At the same time, the roadmap ensures alignment with OPERAS strategies, methodologies, and ongoing projects, while allowing each group to maintain its specific focus and priorities.
OPERAS currently hosts six Special Interest Groups. One of these, the Open Access Books SIG, is further structured into three Working Groups.
A brief history
OPERAS Special Interest Groups (SIG) were launched at the First OPERAS Workshop, held on 26/27 June 2017 in Amsterdam, under the name of “Working Groups”. They first presented their work at the OPERAS Conference “Open Scholarly Communication in Europe. Addressing the Coordination Challenge”, which took place from 31 May – 1 June 2018 in Athens. Each group published a white paper in July 2018 as a vision statement advocating for Open Access in the SSH. With the creation of OPERAS legal entity in March 2020, the working groups are relaunched as “Special Interest Groups”. In 2021 a second version reviewed and updated of the White papers was published. All the papers can be found in OPERAS Living Book.
1. Advocacy
The OPERAS Advocacy SIG‘s primary goals are to advocate for open scholarly communication in the social sciences and humanities. The Advocacy SIG strives to coordinate community central positions for the OPERAS RI and to ensure that the broader OPERAS community is involved in this process. Addressing all stakeholders involved in scholarly communication (e.g. service providers, policy makers, e-Infrastructures and research infrastructures, funders, academic and research Institutions), the group aims to give ideas and advice on advocacy actions for the social science and humanities in order to strengthen Open Science in the the European Research Area. Find out more.
2. Artificial Intelligence
The OPERAS Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group (AI SIG) aims to promote the responsible use of AI in scholarly communication within the social sciences and humanities. The AI SIG provides a dedicated OPERAS space for the exchange of knowledge, the alignment of practices, and the development of shared approaches to AI-driven methods, services, and infrastructures. The group addresses a wide range of stakeholders involved in scholarly communication, including researchers, infrastructure providers, publishers, project consortia, and policy-oriented bodies, and offers them expertize and strategic advice on the ethical, transparent, and meaningful integration of AI technologies. Find out more.
3. Best Practices
The Best Practices Special Interest Group works on identifying the most accepted best practices for each case and plans concrete and specific actions for their implementation by OPERAS partners. It also works on the management of the transition to Open Access. Find out more.
4. Common Standards and FAIR Principles
The SIG “Common Standards and FAIR Principles” aims at exploring the workflows, mediums and technical standards that have recently emerged as a result of the changes brought about by the transition to Open Science. In the context of the work undertaken by the SIG, common standards and FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles are examined as key operational and technical aspects that ensure content quality and interoperability for scholarly output in the social science and humanities (SSH). Find out more.
5. Multilingualism
The Special Interest Group for Multilingualism aims to support researchers and institutions who want to continue publishing in their own language and to develop transnational scientific cooperation at the same time. It also seeks to make contributions that will help encourage policies that reward the use of local languages as fully scientific languages. Find out more.
6. Open Access Books
The Open Access Books Special Interest Group (SIG) was established within OPERAS to strengthen collaboration and coordination around open access book publishing, a vital but often underrepresented area in scholarly communication, especially in the social sciences and humanities. It brings together three complementary working groups—the Open Access Books Network, the OA Business Models group, and the Open Infrastructures group. Find out more.
6.1 Open Access Business Models Working Group
The Open Access Business Models Working Group (WG) looks into business models currently used by open access publishers, with a focus on the situation of European publishers in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) and with particular attention to books, as part of the OPERAS Open Access Books Special Interest Group (SIG). Find out more.
6.2. Open Access Books Network Working Group
The Open Access Books Network (OABN) Working Group is an open and community-led network for anyone interested in open access (OA) books. The OABN is a dedicated community where we can learn, share knowledge and best practices, discuss and develop the future of open access book publishing. We engage in activities including workshops and webinars; share resources such as videos, toolkits, and blog posts; and interact on our discussion boards, at online meetings and in other forums. Find out more.
6.3 Open Infrastructures for Open Access Books Working Group
The OPERAS Open Infrastructures for Open Access Books Working Group aims to foster collaboration among a diverse landscape of small and medium-sized community-focused, open infrastructure providers that deliver vital services to the open access (OA) book ecosystem. Find out more.