Welcome to the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's Open Access web pages
In 2003 the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access as one of the inaugural signatories. In so doing, it committed itself to the principle of open access (OA) to knowledge in the same way as all other major scientific institutions have done.
One first milestone in the realisation of this commitment was the launch of the full-text server Fraunhofer-ePrints which went online in October 2005 (information on Fraunhofer-ePrints). Fraunhofer ePrints is part of the publication database Fraunhofer-Publica and its content is findable worldwide via search engines and subject gateways. In 2006 the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's Executive Board passed a resolution to implement a three-year project aimed at establishing the OA principle in the organisation and, in July 2008, the Board adopted an Open Access Policy setting out concrete measures for the implementation of OA.
In the light of the autonomy enjoyed by the organisation's 56 Institutes and in view of the many different publication processes they employ, the promotion of the OA idea must take place on several levels. For authors, the main personal points of contact are the libraries and specialised information managers of their respective Institutes. A central department is responsible for the information-supply and networking side of things. Through talks at the individual Institutes, information brochures and detailed intranet presentations, Fraunhofer staff are briefed directly and in detail on OA. In addition, we hold special information sessions for the managers of the Institutes and of the Institutes' departments as well as for the staff of the PR departments and the central organs in order to raise their awareness of the importance of open access to knowledge. Value-added services and uniform guidelines serve to make the publication process transparent and easy for all concerned.
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has committed itself especially to the so-called Green Road to OA. This is due, among other things, to the specifically application-orientated nature of its research. Our authors are expected to deposit their work in the Fraunhofer-ePrints repository in addition to publishing it in a conventional journal.
Because the goal of making access to knowledge as free as possible can be achieved only in cooperation with other national and international institutions, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is an active member of a number of committees devoted to networking.
Contact:
Dr. Dina Brandt
Fraunhofer Information Centre for Regional Planning and Building Construction
Nobelstr. 12
70596 Stuttgart
Germany
0049 (0)711-970-2561
