<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><div><div><div><i>Apologies for cross-posting</i> </div><div> <br></div><div>Dear Members of the Open Science Community, <br></div><div><br></div><div>A year into an important initiative to help shore up vital, non-commercial services within the Open Science community; the Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS) is now beginning our search for new potential candidates to help fund. If you are a non-profit essential infrastructure for Open Access or Open Science of international significance and are concerned about your sustainability, this mail is for you.<br></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.scoss.org" target="_blank">SCOSS</a> launched in late 2017 as a response to a growing concern over the security of the infrastructure underpinning Open Science today. The intent? To ensure that key services like the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and SHERPA/RoMEO, services that aid the scientific and scholarly community in the accessing and sharing of research, have the solvency to exist as well as innovate and evolve well into the future.</div><div><br></div><div>In short, this is how the initiative works: SCOSS provides the framework and funding structure, vetting potential candidates based on a defined set of criteria. The most eligible of those that pass the vigorous evaluation are then presented to the global OA/OS community of stakeholders with an appeal for monetary support in a crowdfunding-style approach.</div><div><br></div><div>To date, more than 750 thousand Euros have been pledged to help fund DOAJ and SHERPA/RoMEO, the first services selected in our pilot funding call.</div><div><br></div><div>We’re reaching out to you now as we are preparing to pre-screen services for eligibility for SCOSS’s second funding cycle; perhaps you are with a SCOSS relevant organisation, well-established but concerned about your sustainability. At this point, the board is seeking to identify a field of such potential candidates to vet; among the basic qualifications: eligible services must have a non-profit status in the country in which they are based and/or be affiliated with or owned by a research or educational institution. </div><div><br></div><div>Services that are interested in seeking SCOSS funding are invited to send us a pre-application as a formal expression of interest in applying. The following information should be included:</div><ul><li>Name of the person applying on behalf of the service/organisation and contact details</li><li>Organisation name</li><li>Year the organisation was established</li><li>Legal status of the organisation (e.g. non-profit)</li><li>In short descriptive form, the organisation’s aim</li><li>A description of the organisation’s financial situation and how SCOSS might be able to support efforts toward gaining sustainability (500 words max)</li></ul><div>To be considered, all pre-applications must be submitted at <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdsRiVAKvM85RIFvVqxVi0AOCgWpP8B-nvp5QojBfLiGUkp_A/viewform" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdsRiVAKvM85RIFvVqxVi0AOCgWpP8B-nvp5QojBfLiGUkp_A/viewform</a> by 31 October. </div><div>SCOSS will evaluate all submissions; those organisations that meet the SCOSS aforementioned description while making a clear, strong case for community support will be invited to apply formally in late 2018.</div><div><br></div><div>For all questions, please direct them to <a href="mailto:info@scoss.org" target="_blank">info@scoss.org</a></div><div><br></div><div>Thank you for your interest and support in this effort to secure our vital Open Science infrastructure. </div><div><br></div><div>Kind regards,</div><div><br></div><div>Iryna Kuchma</div><div>On behalf of the SCOSS Advisory Group</div><div><a href="http://www.scoss.org" target="_blank">http://www.scoss.org</a></div></div><div><a href="mailto:info@scoss.org" target="_blank">info@scoss.org</a></div></div></div>
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