European Parliament adopts the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market 
With the European Parliament's adoption of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, and a final agreement all but assured, the Open Science community in Europe has been spared of much change.

In an article SPARC Europe published this week, we provide an overview of key elements of the newly-adopted Directive that are of particular relevance to the academic community, giving a rundown of the positives as well as what we consider to be persistent concerns. 

Read our breakdown of the Directive. 

New Brief: Research Integrity through Open Science and Fair Data
Today, we are releasing a brief that offers insights to senior managers and policy makers looking to better understand how changes in research practices around Open Science and FAIR data principles can be leveraged to help meet higher expectations in the area of research integrity.

Ground covered by the Brief includes a recap of key research integrity principles, the policy measures being taken to apply them, and the issues these aim to address; the role of open science and FAIR principles, and research support strategies that research performing organisations can take action on. The Brief also includes an outline of how the emerging European Open Science Cloud will help facilitate change in these areas. 

Download the Brief. 

In new effort seeking insights into Open rewards and incentive practices, new survey launches
Around 200 surveys were sent to funding bodies throughout Europe this week as SPARC Europe in consultation with ALLEA, The European Foundation Centre (EFC) and Science Europe embarked on a new discovery initiative. It reaches out to over 25 countries. SPARC Europe is looking to shed light on the Open Science policy and patterns of rewards and incentives used by Europe's research funders to encourage openness to the research they fund. It hereby hopes to increase policy development amongst funders in Europe which is so essential to supporting the more rapid implementation of Open Science across Europe. Among the recipients of the survey: key international funding bodies, national funding agencies, major charities and foundations, national academies and key research performing organisations.

Results of the survey will be announced during summer 2019 in the form of a report accessible to all.

Find out more about the survey.

SCOSS delivers its first Progress Report
As SCOSS prepares for its second funding round, it is releasing a Progress Report that offers an assessment of the Pilot Project, which to date, has raised more than €1 million for the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and SHERPA/RoMEO. The report, the result of an assessment that involved the SCOSS Board as well as representatives from DOAJ and SHERPA/RoMEO, offers a thorough examination of what worked - and what could have worked better, and includes details of how lessons learned will be incorporated moving forward.

Download the Progress Report.

SPARC Europe Board elects new Chair
Mr Ignasi Labastida i Juan is SPARC Europe's new Board Chair, replacing outgoing Chair, Jan Erik Frantsvåg. Mr. Labastida i Juan works in the Research Unit of the CRAI (Learning and Research Resources Center-Library) at the University of Barcelona (UB) and has been working toward making Open Access, Open Science and Open Education a reality for close to 20 years.

Read what Mr. Labastida i Juan is saying about his new role.