Whether at the conference in Denver or tuning in from around the world, participants of OpenEd25 said they felt a sense of connection and community at the October 28-30 event.
This year’s hybrid Open Education Conference attracted over 1,600 participants including 480 in-person and more than 1,100 online. Headliners Colorado Governor Jared Polis, best-selling
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International Open Access Week 2025 Highlights from Discussion on Theme: “Who Owns Our Knowledge?”
During International Open Access Week 2025, individuals around the world had critical conversations around this year’s theme of “Who Owns Our Knowledge?” and took steps toward reclaiming control of their knowledge and knowledge infrastructure. This year’s discussions and actions reflected growing momentum to reclaim not just access to research, but the fundamental infrastructure and governance
Reasserting Community Control Over Who Owns Our Knowledge
With today’s start to International Open Access Week, important conversations will take place across the world exploring how communities can reassert control over the knowledge they produce. This year’s theme of “Who Owns Our Knowledge?” challenges us to reflect on not only who has access to education and research but on how knowledge is created
American Heart Association Amplifies Impact of Research with Open Policies
The American Heart Association recognizes the value of open practices when it comes to its research investments.
Under the umbrella of “open science,” the organization has had both public access and open data policies in place for more than a decade. The Heart Association requires all journal articles that result from its funding be made
Internet Archive Designated as a Federal Depository Library
Posted on July 24, 2025 by Chris Freeland
Announced today, the Internet Archive has been designated as a federal depository library by Senator Alex Padilla. The designation was made via letter to Scott Matheson, Superintendent of Documents at the U.S. Government Publishing Office.
Senator Padilla explained the designation in a statement to KQED:
“The Archive’s digital-first
Intersection of Public Engagement and Open Access Presents Opportunities
To solve many of the world’s most pressing problems, open access advocates believe knowledge needs to be shared widely. Those who support publicly engaged or community-engaged research emphasize the benefit of science being broadly accessible and informed by the contributions of multiple partners and/or interest holders to amplify impact.
With such similar goals, there is
SPARC Responds to Senate’s “Ten Times Faster” Science Initiative
In June 2025, Sens. Heinrich (D-NM) and Rounds (R-SD) launched the American Science Acceleration Project (ASAP), a bipartisan Senate initiative that aims to make American science “ten times faster” by 2030 through five pillars: data infrastructure, computing resources, AI development, enhanced collaboration, and streamlined regulatory processes.
The initiative reflects concerns about maintaining U.S. scientific leadership
Open Education 101 Series
As open education continues to gain traction across educational institutions, we’ve heard from the community about the need for more professional development focused on foundational concepts—especially for those stepping into open education work for the first time.
Building on the positive response to our Open Access 101 series, SPARC is pleased to announce Open Education
SPARC Welcomes Corinna Turbes as New Government Relations Lead
SPARC is happy to welcome Corinna Turbes to the role of Senior Manager of Government Relations. In this position, she will serve as a critical liaison between SPARC and government officials at the federal level, advocating for members’ interests in open research and open education.
Turbes joins SPARC from the Data Foundation in Washington, D.C.,
SPARC to Become Independent Nonprofit Organization on June 1
Effective June 1, 2025, SPARC will officially transition from operating as a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund to an independent nonprofit organization. We have successfully incorporated SPARC as a charitable nonprofit organization in Washington, DC., and have filed for our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. We expect that an IRS determination will take ~6-8