Many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs), and research funding agencies support Open Access in various ways.

Funding agencies including the European Commission, [htm] Wellcome Trust in the UK, the [htm] National Institutes of Health in the US, and many other organizations require recipients of research funding to deposit copies of all research outputs into a freely-accessible, publicly-accessible Open Access Repository.

Other organizations such as the World Bank are supporting Open Data initiatives by collecting and disseminating data sets and indicators into globally-accessible, freely-accessible repositories.

• What are the major issues related to repository interoperability for these types of organizations?
• What issues related to repository interoperability should NGOs, IGOs, and research funding bodies be discussing?
• What other ways can these types of organizations support repository interoperability?
• What resources exist related to interoperability issues specifically for NGOs, IGOs, non-profit organizations, and research funding agencies? What other resources are needed?
• What related issues are on the horizon?

Unique Issues for Interoperability in India and Asia: 

What are the key challenges related to OA repository interoperability in India and Asia? What issues are unique to this area? How do bandiwdth issues, Internet access, and the use of mobile devices play into repository interoperability issues?

Language:

Is language a factor in OA repository interoperability?

Collaboration:

How do libraries work together to support interoperability?

Leadership:

Who are the leaders in this area? What libraries, institutions, or other organizations support OA repository interoperability in India and Asia? What more is needed? How can organizations such as COAR support OA repository interoperability for India and Latin America?

Best Practices, Lessons Learned, Success Stories: 

What are some examples or success stories related to regional efforts to support repository interoperability? Are there documented best practices?

What else do we need to know about interoperability for OA repositories as it relates specifically to India and Asia? 

Unique Issues for Inteorperability in Africa:

What are the key challenges related to OA repository interoperability in Africa? What issues related to OA repository interoperability are unique to Africa? How do bandwidth issues, Internet access, and the use of mobile devices play into repository interoperability?

Language:

Is language a factor in OA repository interoperability in Africa?

Collaboration:

How do libraries work together to support interoperability?

Leadership:

Who are the leaders in this area? What libraries, institutions, or other organizations support OA repository in Africa? What more is needed? How can organizations such as COAR support OA repository interoperability for Africa?

Best Practices, Lessons Learned, Success Stories:

What are some examples of or success stories related to regional efforts to support interoperability in Africa? Are there documented best practices?

What else do we need to know about interoperability for OA repositories as it relates specifically to Africa?

Unique Issues for OA Interoperability in Latin America: 

What are the key issues related to OA repository interoperability in Latin America? What issues are unique to Latin America? Do bandwidth issues, Internet access, or the use of mobile devices play into repository interoperability?

Language:

Is language a factor in OA repository interoperability in Latin America?

Collaboration: 

How do libraries in Latin America work together to support interoperability?

Leadership: 

Who are the leaders in this area? What libraries, institutions, or other organizations support OA repository interoperability? What more is needed? How can organizations like COAR support OA repository interoperability in Latin America?

Best Practices, Lessons Learned, Success Stories: 

What are some examples or success stories related to national or regional efforts to support interoperability in Latin America? Are there documented best practices?

What else should we know about challenges with interoperability of OA repositories specifically as it relates to Latin America?

Increasingly, Open Access is being tied to other issues such as Open Educational Resources (OERs), open data, and open science. How are organizations dealing with these related issues? What are the issues for repository managers as they relate to interoperability?

The COAR Working Group on Interoperability has started a list of key resources, guidelines, standards, etc. about OA repository interoperability.

What else should be added to this list?

To library, information science, information technology, and information management graduate students: what is being taught about repository interoperability? What topics are being covered? What do you wish you were learning?

To our more experienced repository managers: what advice about interoperability would you give to new repository managers just starting out?

Please use this space to post any general comments or questions about interoperability, issues you’d like to discuss here, or any other comments that do not fit into one of the existing discussion threads.

Everyone involved in supporting scholarly communication, Open Access, and eResearch is invited to participate in the interoperability discussion. Use the comments area to respond to our questions, engage in dialogue with other participants, post new questions, and suggest ideas we should discuss in coming weeks.

The forum will run until 15 October 2011. After that, members of the team will review comments and input from participants which will inform our next steps. The team will them determine a plan of action for establishing a COAR roadmap for global repository interoperability. If you’re interested in working with us to establish a COAR roadmap, please fill out this form and a member of the team will get in touch with you.

Last, you can participate by letting others know about the forum and checking back often throughout the duration of the online event.

Thank you!