Agreed on by the Academy plenum on 28.01.2017.
Preamble
The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (HAdW) attaches great importance to the digital visibility of its research, organization and events as well as the broadest
possible digital accessibility and long-term digital archiving of research results. With regard to its research projects, it follows an open access and open science strategy
in which publicly subsidized research results are also made available to the public free of charge wherever this makes sense and is legally permitted. This strategy is not directed
against the printed book, which the Academy continues to strive to promote. To implement these principles, HAdW is pursuing five goals:
1. Website, Homepage
It presents itself and each of its research projects on its websites in a largely homogeneous form and according to a HAdW corporate design concept.
There is a German and an English version of all websites; in individual cases there may also be a version in other languages.
It informs its members (and possibly other groups of people) about events at the Academy on the
HAdW homepage and through a newsletter. The newsletter is published twice a year, also in printed form if desired; it also serves as the basis for the yearbook.
It opens up the possibility of setting up discussion groups.
2. Open Access
All HAdW projects and research centers undertake to publish their results in digital form, accessible to users free of charge.
If the results are presented in printed form, a waiting period of up to two years is provided for in justified cases,
unless there are serious publishing or bibliotechnical reasons for not doing so.
In cooperation with the university libraries of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it makes publications from its research units freely available in digital form under the Creative Commons license “CC BY” recommended by the German Research Foundation and, in suitable cases, through print-on-demand, provided that there are no existing publishing contracts to the contrary or other sources of funding. In future publishing contracts with the Academy's series, a release (“moving wall”) is to be agreed after a maximum of two years.
3. Long-Term Archiving
Within the limits of its financial resources, the Academy also ensures the digital and free long-term archiving of its publications (e.g. yearbooks) and research data
and ensures the accessibility of the data for the duration of the projects. This also includes the scanning of older research materials and retro-digitization.
This digital archiving does not replace the need to preserve and maintain the original materials.
4. Digital Methods and Databases
It supports the research centres in their respective digitization concepts and coordinates the development of databases and websites
according to the most compatible standards possible. The research centers are therefore required to coordinate digital projects with the IT department of the HAdW.
They are also obliged to contribute financially to the development, maintenance and management of the digital infrastructure.
5. Networking and Cooperation
It is aiming to network the various databases with each other, for example through a joint search engine.
Cooperation with other academies within the Union of Academies and the digitization concepts of the state universities is also being considered.