About us
Open Access Brandenburg is a resource for monitoring and steering the Open Access transformation in the state of Brandenburg. It is a result of the first Open Access strategy of the state of Brandenburg, which was presented in 2019. This strategy contains specific transformation goals and measures, which include the establishment of "a networking and competence center for Open Access in the field of academic publications" (p. 16) by the Ministry of Sciences, Research and Cultural Affairs (MWFK) of the state of Brandenburg.
Target group
Its immediate target group is the eight universities funded by the state and the people working at them. In addition, in the course of networking, other stakeholders in the field of Open Access and Open Research within and outside the state of Brandenburg.
History and cooperation
Open Access Brandenburg is a concretization of the strategy paper “Open Access in Germany” published in 2018 by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Here, the section “Anchoring Open Access at the state level” formulates:
“The goal must be to ensure that corresponding initiatives are anchored in all sixteen federal states and that a common understanding of the importance and opportunities of a responsible open access culture is achieved.” (p. 5)
Open Access Brandenburg is also actively working towards this goal together with the state initiatives of other German states. Open Access Brandenburg cooperates closely with the Zentrum für Digitale Transformation (ZDT, “Center of Brandenburg Universities for Digital Transformation”) and is based at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam. It has project status until the end of 2023. Open Access Brandenburg also coordinates the publication fund for open access monographs provided by the state of Brandenburg.
Contact
The scientific direction of Open Access Brandenburg lies with Prof. Dr. jur. Ellen Euler, LL.M., Dean of the Department of Information Sciences and Professor for Open Access, Open Data and Open Science at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.
If you have any questions, and especially if you are interested in an exchange, we would be happy to hear from you.
Dr. Ulrike Gerhardt (University of Potsdam)
OA Brandenburg is an indispensable link and medium between scientific authors, academic institutions and a diverse publishing landscape.
Open Access Brandenburg supported me in the publication of my first monograph on the topic of East Futurist memory in art. Not only does it help me to make my work available to an interested public, but it also advises my independent publisher on setting up an Open Access section and the topic-related series. Open Access Brandenburg is a vital link and medium between academic authors, academic institutions that often stumble in the face of digital change, and a diverse, often precarious publishing landscape in the case of the humanities. As a Brandenburg scientist, no other initiative could have offered me such comprehensive support with the first publication. Chapeau!
Prof. Dr. Johannes Ungelenk (University of Potsdam)
Open Access Brandenburg does important work - beyond the publication fund.
Thanks to the support of the publication fund for open-access monographs of the state of Brandenburg, my research of the last few years, which I did in Brandenburg and was ultimately financed by taxes, is now freely accessible to interested parties - not only in Brandenburg but, in English, all over the world. On the way to more democratic publication processes that are more oriented towards the skills and needs of academic authors, Open Access Brandenburg does essential work beyond the publication fund, which I follow with great interest.
Prof. Dr. Peer Trilcke (University of Potsdam)
The brand-new research on the most important author of the state of Brandenburg - Theodor Fontane - is directly and openly accessible worldwide.
The Theodor Fontane Archive has been pursuing an open heritage strategy for several years. The important cultural heritage of Theodor Fontane and the archive's extensive data holdings are made available to all citizens without restriction. Thanks to the publication fund for open access monographs, we can now also make cutting-edge research on Brandenburg's most important author directly and freely accessible worldwide.
Prof. Dr. Daniela Schlütz (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF) and Prof. Dr. Christin Tellisch (Hochschule für angewandte Pädagogik Berlin)
OA access contributes to the further development of educational offerings.
We published a monograph with support of the publication fund in 2022 dedicated to homeschooling in times of pandemic. There, we analyzed and reviewed best-practice examples. Thanks to support from the fund, these can now be used free of charge by teachers in the classroom for inspiration - a win-win situation, because OA access means that our study results can be used directly in practice, where they can contribute to the further development of educational programs.
Friederike Borchert (Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau)
Open access supports the transfer of knowledge to society and the economy.
Conference proceedings play an important role in publishing research results in engineering. Thanks to the Publication Fund for Open Access Monographs of the State of Brandenburg, scientists at our university now have the opportunity to publish conference proceedings Open Access as well. Open Access supports the transfer of knowledge to society and industry.