Partnering on Copyright

Top-down or bottom-up?
You could take a top-down (targeting HEI management) and/or a bottom-up (targeting authors) approach. Combining the two allows each group to influence the other. Different parties can then be brought together to collaborate, in the form of a steering group, for example. Such a group has been set up at SOAS and includes staff from the library, IT, learning and teaching, the research office, and publications and marketing. Those with knowledge of copyright and marketing can be a great help here. It is also worth getting research committees on your side as they can influence authors and managers.

Blanket or targeted?
At the local level, your strategy could be a blanket one (mass communication through media such as newsletters and websites) or it could be more targeted (personal communication, individually or to groups). Targeted advocacy has the benefit of providing you with an opportunity to be clearly seen listening to the users’ needs and concerns. You might also target specific departments rather than tackle the institution as a whole. This way, OA and self-archiving can be introduced more gradually, with one department functioning as a test bed, providing demonstrable results to others before the initiative is expanded. You could also identify ‘champions’, those authors already convinced of the benefits of self-archiving and keen to convert their peers. This can be much more persuasive than formalised sessions. More advice on spotting and using champions can be found here.

Targeting Specific Departments

Differences in knowledge and experience between departments must be taken into account when devising an advocacy initiative. Some subject disciplines do not have a culture of knowledge and idea sharing between colleagues, so some faculties and departments will be harder to target. This is especially the case in the Humanities, where academics do not use pre-prints and subject-based repositories to report their research.

Another reason for targeting specific departments, as opposed to whole institutions, is that this may be a good way of introducing the concept of OA and self-archiving more gradually. Actual departments may adopt OA practices and, in the long run, may adopt an OA self-archiving policy. This will allow IR administrators and fellow champions to illustrate the potential of OA within the whole institution, and will help strengthen the case of an institutional-wide policy.

For more information on targeting specific departments look at Disciplinary Differences Relevant To Open Access, taken from Lists Related to the Open Access Movement.

Practical ways to carry out blanket and targeted advocacy can be found as part of the 'Know Your Rights' advocacy toolkit.

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