Following an RFI (Request for Information) for the OA Switchboard issued on 18 March 2020, OASPA is pleased to announce that it has chosen to partner with ELITEX to build an MVP (minimum viable product) and help run a Pilot this year.
We received 8 strong responses to the RFI questionnaire, following 22 initial expressions of interest. The process was highly competitive, and each of the proposals had different ideas on the implementation details, with working experience to back up their suggestions. Based on input gathered and discussed, the OA Switchboard Steering Committee and OASPA selected ELITEX, who best meets our immediate requirements and has the relevant experience in the scholarly information or solutions space, and evidence of competency in developing and delivering open source solutions.
ELITEX is a boutique IT company based in Lviv, Ukraine with sales and local project management offices in both the UK and the Netherlands. Their main expertise is in building dedicated development teams for businesses and startups. More information can be found here on their website.
ELITEX is putting together a development team for the OA Switchboard and beginning work on the MVP immediately. We will shortly be able to announce further details on the organisations participating in the Pilot when the next stage of the project commences. Institutions, funders and who are not yet signed up but are interested in joining the OA Switchboard Pilot can find more information here.
About the OA Switchboard Initiative
The OA Switchboard initiative (www.oaswitchboard.org) is a not-for-profit collaboration between funders, institutions and to provide essential infrastructure to facilitate the fulfilment of open access strategies across business models, policies and agreements. Throughout 2020, a project (overseen by OASPA, funded through a sponsorship model) is being run to prepare for the OA Switchboard to go live as an operational solution. When the OA Switchboard moves to an operational stage, following a successful 2020 project, a sustainable governance structure and funding model will be in place.
Further information is available from Yvonne Campfens, OA Switchboard Project Manager