News Story

CORE receives funding for five years from Microsoft’s open data initiative to increase access to open scientific research

Nancy Pontika, Wednesday 18 Dec 2024

CORE, an Open Access infrastructure operated by The Open University, has been awarded significant funding for the next five years from Microsoft, as part of its’ support for increasing access to data and scientific research.

Since 2020, Microsoft has worked to close the data divide and help organisations of all sizes realise the benefits of open data and the new technologies it powers. Microsoft aims to make the process of opening, sharing, and collaborating around data easier so that researchers and innovators can uncover new insights, make better decisions, and improve efficiencies when tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

CORE indexes scholarly content from over 12,000 institutional repositories, preprint servers and journals and makes this available to the global community via a range of services built on top of the data. CORE currently delivers its services to over 30 million monthly users.

The funding will support CORE in:

Improving processes for indexing and increasing discoverability of Open Access content from repositories, journals and preprint services.
Developing technology to improve the quantity and quality of scholarly metadata in CORE, ensuring CORE significantly contributes to the delivery of a global scholarly knowledge graph.
Improving CORE services for better machine access to academic content, in line with the requirements of the OSTP memo, and in line with other OA policy requirements.
Conducting research on ethical and responsible ways of using academic content in the age of AI.
Developing an annual yearly statistical monitoring process for open access content growth.

Further, this funding will allow us to grow and strengthen the infrastructure that supports these services. CORE will remain a community-governed infrastructure, in line with its commitments as a signatory to the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructures (POSI).

Professor Petr Knoth, founder and team lead for CORE said;

“We are delighted to receive the support from Microsoft to deliver on our ongoing mission to become the most comprehensive index of open access scholarly documents. Open access, open science and open data are critical components of a fairer, more just world where access to scientific information is available to all. The team at CORE has been committed to this goal for over 10 years and it is fantastic to see this effort being recognised.”

Burton Davis, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, at Microsoft added;

“Microsoft is committed to increasing open access to scientific knowledge to help further research and fuel breakthroughs to address society’s greatest challenges, such as improving healthcare and the sustainability of our planet. We are proud to support CORE’s important work of making more scientific scholarly content openly available, helping foster innovation, including the responsible development of AI.”

Professor Nicholas Braithwaite, Executive Dean for the STEM Faculty said;

“I am delighted to witness CORE’s continued growth and success. CORE’s mission of making scientific knowledge open to students, researchers and the general public is engrained in The Open University’s DNA. What began as a research project has evolved into a world-leading service that serves 30 million users every month and advances not only the principles of Open Science, but also the global visibility and impact of The Open University.”

Professor Kevin Shakesheff, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at The Open University added;

“CORE is a noteworthy example of how OU research can generate substantial value beyond academia for society and industry. This new cooperation with Microsoft as part of their Open Data Initiative highlights our ability to drive meaningful change through innovative research.”

Professor Harith Alani, Director of the Knowledge Media institute said;

“At KMi, we are proud to see our years of dedicated research and teamwork culminate in this significant investment. The success of CORE is a testament to the exceptional vision, capability, culture, and perseverance of KMi, whose efforts continue, against all odds, to shape the future of the OU and Higher Education through cutting-edge research and innovation.”