Advancing Open Science in Africa – Three Organizations Collaborate to Implement Open Science Principles in Seven Partner States

The East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), the Public Library of Science (PLOS), and the Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa) today announced that they will collaborate in the implementation of Open Science and Open Access principles for EAC Partner States, which include Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

“We are eager to collaborate with PLOS and TCC Africa to increase the adoption of Open Science principles for our member states,” said Dr  Sylvance Okoth, Executive Secretary, East African Science and Technology Commission. “This partnership will also enable us to better promote the benefits of Open Access publishing for researchers in East Africa.”

“We already work closely with PLOS, and we are excited about teaming with EASTECO,” said Joy Owango, Executive Director, Training Centre in Communication. “All three organizations will play key roles in the communication of, and education in, Open Science practices.” 

“This partnership with EASTECO, along with our continued collaboration with TCC Africa, fits perfectly with our mission to work with local organizations in order to understand and reflect their needs and values with regards to Open Science policies and practices,” said Roheena Anand, Executive Director of Global Publishing Development, PLOS.

EASTECO is responsible for the overall strategic approach and management of the programs, while PLOS and TCC will help EASTECO realize its vision. This vision includes among other things:

a)    Supporting and implementing Open Access publishing and Open Science principles for EAC partner states;

b)    Supporting conception, utilization and production of science, and translation and communication of science;

c)     Supporting openness of science:  increasing transparency and inclusion in sharing research

All three organizations are heavily invested in an Open future and want to work with stakeholders across the scholarly communication ecosystem of East Africa to promote and increase uptake of Open Access and Open Science more broadly.

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About the East African Science and Technology Commission 

EASTECO was established as a semi-autonomous institution of the EAC by the 5th Extra-ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State held on 18th June 2007, in accordance with Chapter 16, Article 103 (a) of the Treaty on the Establishment of the East African Community, where the Partner States undertook to promote cooperation in the development of Science & Technology within the Community. https://easteco.org/historical-background/

” The overall objective of the Commission is to coordinate and promote the development, management and application of science and technology in Partner States to support regional integration and socio-economic development”

About the Public Library of Science

PLOS is a nonprofit, open access publisher empowering researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. Since our founding in 2001, PLOS journals have helped break boundaries in research communication to provide more opportunities, choice, and context for researchers and readers. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.

About the Training Centre in Communication Africa

The Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa) is the first African-based training center to teach effective communication skills to scientists. TCC Africa is an award winning  Trust, established as a non-profit entity in 2006 and is registered in Kenya.  TCC Africa provides  capacity support in improving researchers  output and visibility through training in  scholarly and science communication.

TCC Africa’s mission is to contribute to the increase in profile, locally, and internationally, of African science, and its impact on the life of Africans, by improving skills in technical communication in all forms, at academia and other relevant forums, in Africa.

Our objective is to train. support. empower. researchers  through capacity in improving their research output and visibility.

CONTACTS

For EASTECO:

John Bosco Byamugisha

Grants and Publications Assistant

jbyamugisha@easteco.org

+250785175466

For PLOS:

David Knutson

Sr. Communications Manager, PLOS, USA

651-260-8288

dknutson@plos.org

For TCC Africa:

Public  Relations Team

Training Centre in Communication

(Through the School of Biological Sciences Linkage)

Gecaga Institute Bldg.,

Chiromo Campus, University of Nairobi

EMAIL: pr@tcc-africa.org ,info@tcc-africa.org