EXPLORER project Elizabeth Lunt Project Manager De Montfort University

Introduction The EXPLORER project aimed to enhance and embed the DMU repository DORA within institutional processes and systems The work was broken down into two strands:  Strategic  Technical The project was run by a team from the Library, IT and Media Services and the Research Development Office

Strategic Activities and Outputs DORA survey and results Review of submission processes and documentation Advocacy and dissemination User interaction and feedback

DORA survey Over 80 responses from across the University Key findings which could be applied during the project:  Key services to encourage the use of DORA were statistics and feeds to websites  Clarification of processes surrounding DORA would be helpful  Suggested improvements to the look of DORA Further ideas for work beyond the end of EXPLORER included the ability to amend records and the possibility to make full- text items mandatory where it does not contravene copyright

Review of processes and documentation Revised submission processes and supporting workflow have been developed for each faculty The mandate for the use of DORA has been reissued to support the revised documentation All faculties will now primarily use self-submission to DORA by researchers A landing page for DORA has been set-up within the DMU website to increase visibility and to enable all documentation and information to be found in one place This work has increased the exposure of DORA and reminded researchers of its importance and function

Advocacy and Dissemination A variety of JISC funded projects were reviewed to gain understanding of the different approaches to advocacy and success factors A targeted approach to advocacy was used within the project period with sessions run in faculties and one-to-one work done An expansive range of new advocacy materials have been developed A number of events have been attended and an article has been published in ALISS as well as regular blog updates and the ready availability of documents The advocacy materials will be used for the continued support of DORA. Further dissemination events are planned to continue to expose and enhance the work of the project

User interaction and feedback The DORA survey and supporting focus groups involved users early on in the project A series of drop-in session in faculties were well attended Demonstrations of the changes to DORA from the technical stream were well received. Interactions with external stakeholders were also very encouraging Activities have allowed users to interact with the project work and to feel more involved as well as having a positive impact on the project work

Technical Work Kultur for Dspace New look and feel for DORA Further changes to improve DORA CERIF4REF Link to new CMS for DMU website

Kultur for DSpace The Kultur plugin for Eprints allows for the enhanced display of non-text outputs Eprints and DSpace are not technically compatible Kultur has been developed for DSpace using existing and proprietary DSpace coding The long term impacts of this are only beginning to be felt but it is anticipated that it will encourage an increase in the upload of non-text items and improved usage of DORA by these researchers This plug-in will be available for all DSpace repositories in due course

Old Look and Feel

New Look and Feel

Kultur Images

Further changes to DORA Improved name authority Removal of dummy text items Introducing an alternative submission form for non-text outputs Upgrades to DSpace allowing for display of statistics on all items All these improve the experience for users and have met with a very positive response going to improve the reputation of DORA across the institution

CERIF4REF The plug-in was run with DSpace and shown to work However, some metadata issues needed to be resolved A community for REF outputs has been created (internal only) which the plug-in can be run against limiting the outputs Long-term more work is required on this plug-in to make it work efficently

Link to CMS for new website A number of projects were reviewed for the most appropriate way to do this A two stage solution was developed: Stage one: RSS feed from a DORA search Stage two: flexible system for choosing particular outputs Stage one has been implemented within the project Stage two will follow after review and evaluation of stage one

Future activities to increase impact Launch event for the Kultur for DSpace plug-in in January 2012 Launch event for all the changes to DORA alongside the launch of the new DMU website Sharing of the technical work of the project, including documentation, with the repository and DSpace communities Publication of an article about the EXPLORER project in a relevant journal Inclusion of all EXPLORER documentation in DORA A second User Survey to be sent out following both launches to evaluate the results of the project and to collate impact.

Lessons Learnt When looking for tools to adapt it is important to understand the technologies behind repositories; DSpace and Eprints are based on fundamentally different technologies which proved to be incompatible. The evaluation of a number of tools and plug-ins allowed us to choose the best to reflect the work required and the resources within the project. Some activities within a project plan will not be responded to as expected and flexibility when working with users and stakeholders as necessary The value of responses to surveys should not be underestimated and they can provide important information to drive project work Close collaboration with key colleagues led to the development of project outputs to better fit the needs of the institution.

Conclusions The project has met its aims and objectives in the following ways:  An increase in the number of records in DORA by over 1000  Revision and resubmission of DORA documentation including submission options and improved workflows  Development of the Kultur for DSpace tool and the integration with the new website promoting expansion of DORA and embedding it further into research systems  Improvements to DORA including access and ease of finding information and further development towards becoming a self-sustaining archive  Optimisation of documentation and submission processes to support staff with respect to research outputs and archiving In conclusion the project has been very successful and has more than exceeded the expectations of the project board and team. A number of lessons have been learnt and recommendations outlined which allow DORA to be taken forward and have a long-term impact on DMU and the wider community.

Beyond EXPLORER DIEGO Launch event and evaluation Continued Advocacy and Dissemination Sharing of technical outputs with Dspace community Continued development of DORA particularly for the REF