1. Open Journal Project
Research and Innovation
by the Engineers Without Borders Institute
towards Universal Access in Research

2. Current Problem: If this information is locked up and not made
available to communities experiencing poverty, the findings of
these research reports are voided, instead of creating a positive
impact in these societies.
The Challenge.

3. Journal of Humanitarian Engineering
The Journal.

4. Access in Developing Countries
Citizen Scientists
Practitioners
Academic Researchers and Authors
The Audience.

5. No Cost Access – One of the major barriers to accessing research
is the cost of either access (through subscriptions of one-off
payments) and by submissions (author payments). In the Open
Journal Project 0 we have No Costs for Authors and No Costs for
Readers!
The Approach.

6. Creative Commons – To get the most benefit from the research -
we are making information as usable as possible - for example
allowing people to create guidebooks and manuals based on the
information. The Open Journal Project uses the most open
Creative Commons License.

7. Plain Language Guide: With the rise of citizen scientists and
collaboration with academics and practitioners that have different
educational levels, we aim to make research accessible through
Plain Language Guides - simplified versions without the
'academic-ese'.

8. Multi-Language Access: Most academic information are printed
one language, or occasionally one local language and (ofte
English. With six out of seven of the world's population not speakin
English, Foreign Language Translations are required to reach th
world's population. The Open Journal Project has been translate
into languages such as Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese etc.

9. Low Bandwidth Access: In the Global North, internet access for
documents (journal articles) is rarely a barrier. High quality
internet access is not universal, however, particularly in
developing countries. To ensure access in these places, we have
developed a Low Bandwidth Website.

10. Enabled Access: Large Print and Braille versions of our papers
have been developed for people with visual impairments. This
project also follows disability best-practice guidelines for access
(provided by Vision Australia).

11. Distribution Models: There is no limit to how the project can be
distributed. Peer-to-peer distribution methods as well as mail-outs
and online free publications have been created to ensure that

12. Censorship and Online Restrictions: at either an organisational or
national level - there exists the possibility that individuals will not
have access to websites or content. As part of the Open Journal
Project we have been able to develop Peer-to-Peer Distribution

13. Continue publishing the Journal of
Humanitarian Engineering
The Future
Explore and pilot new
innovations in Open Access
Launch the Link Festival – Social
Enterprise Convention
Share our results with the
academic community (e.g.
The Conversation)
Contribute through a
case study approach to
the OA movement.
Develop a guide and How-To
for publishers, authors
Open Journal Project Roadshow:
Sharing our work. Building a
community.
Support for academics and
libraries in developing countries
to gain access to information.

14. We Want You!
Thoughts. Feedback. Ideas.
Support in distribution of our
Journal.
Partnerships for promotion /
credibility / financial support.
Connections to disseminate our
outcomes and to links other OA
advocates and users.
Julian O’Shea # j.oshea@ewb.org.au # @openjournal
www.ewb.org.au/journal | www.ewb.org.au/JHE
www.openjournalproject.org