idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
In May, ZB MED announced its project OLSPub, an open, reliable and sustainable alternative to PubMed. The project aims to strengthen the resilience and independence of Europe’s research infrastructure in the life sciences. To support this initiative, ZB MED submitted a funding proposal to the DFG, which has now informed that the project will not receive funding. Recently, the DFG launched a new funding programme focusing on the protection of at-risk data holdings and on data resilience. ZB MED has already submitted a new application within this programme to realise the safeguarding of data as a key component of OLSPub. A decision on this application is expected before the end of 2025.
The project was recognised as highly relevant, and the reviewers assessed its technical concept and implementation as sound. However, the DFG panel noted that the governance structure and the involvement of international partners could be further improved.
"Given the urgency of the matter, we developed the OLSPub proposal within a very short timeframe," explains Dr Miriam Albers, one of the project’s Manager. "Some aspects could therefore not be elaborated in the level of detail desired by the reviewers – particularly those requiring coordination with international partners. We regret this, but we are already planning the next steps. We see it as our responsibility to drive forward the issue of European research sovereignty, and the urgency of the situation motivates us to seek solutions beyond traditional funding channels."
New application focusing on data resilience
In October, the DFG’s startet a new funding line on data sovereignty and cloud infrastructures - particularly those stored in foreign cloud environments. ZB MED has submitted a new proposal building on the OLSPub vision. The revised application has been fundamentally restructured and aligned with the programme’s specific objectives, while reinforcing the European anchoring of the project.
"With this new application, we are consistently pursuing our goal of strengthening openness, transparency and digital sovereignty in scientific information services," emphasises Professor Konrad Förstner, also a Manager of OLSPub. "We remain fully committed to building a sustainable, stable and future-proof information infrastructure for research and science – particularly in medicine and the life sciences."
Additional funding initiatives planned
Even if approved, the new DFG application would cover only part of the project’s overall costs. Therefore, ZB MED is also seeking additional financial support through donations or a dedicated fundraising campaign. The aim is to bring together new partners from science, politics and civil society who share the vision of an open and European research infrastructure. This approach would also allow the project to progress sustainably and independently of national funding cycles.
ZB MED is thus pursuing a dual strategy: in the short term, securing at-risk data collections via the new DFG funding line; in the long term, developing a comprehensive European infrastructure with distributed funding mechanisms.
"Recent developments have shown how crucial it is to combine agility, technological advancement and scientific excellence to respond effectively to global challenges," notes Professor Dietrich Rebholz-Schuhmann, Scientific Director of ZB MED. "Through our continued engagement, we aim not only to safeguard data but also to strengthen, for the long term, the infrastructure that supports knowledge transfer, research transparency and access to validated scientific information.
https://www.zbmed.de/en/research/current-projects/olspub
OLSPub - an initiative from ZB MED
Source: ZB MED
Copyright: CC BY-SA 4.0
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OLSPub - an initiative from ZB MED
Source: ZB MED
Copyright: CC BY-SA 4.0
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