Research is becoming increasingly international. Many of today’s most challenging issues such as climate change, poverty, health, and so on, are global in nature and must be addressed in collaborative ways by researchers across regional and disciplinary boundaries.

In this environment open access repositories are becoming key components of the research infrastructure. They support open access to publications, data sharing, and the stewardship of research outputs. They also reflect a growing commitment on behalf of institutions towards the development of a sustainable ecosystem for scholarly communication.

One of the important features of repositories is that they can be interconnected to create networks that provide unified access to essential research materials for researchers around the world. Many regions are investing in the development of repository networks. Although these networks reflect the requirements of unique jurisdictional contexts and research cultures, they should also be aligned in order to support the truly global nature of research and scholarly communication.

To that end, COAR (Confederation of Open Access Repositories) is convening a meeting to discuss the alignment of open access repository networks. The meeting, which will take place on March 20-21, 2014 will be hosted by the National Research Council of Italy and be attended by representatives from a number of regions including Australia, China, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

Participants will discuss priority areas for alignment and outline a plan for further cooperation. The meeting will lay the foundation for ongoing dialogue and collaborative actions that will be open to all regions and networks interested in participating.

For more information, please contact Kathleen Shearer, COAR Executive Director (kathleen.shearer@coar-repositories.org)