Help us shape the future of Diamond Open Access in Europe!

The European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) is looking for new EDCH Advocates to promote our activities and tools among librarians, editors, researchers, policy advisors, and other open science stakeholders, joining our current team for the 2026-2027 period!

You can meet our current cohort on the EDCH Advocates webpage to see the wide range of backgrounds, expertise, and European regions already represented. We look forward to adding new perspectives to this growing network!

We welcome librarians, editors, researchers, and open science supporters from different European countries and academic disciplines. This diversity is essential: research and publishing cultures vary across Europe, and you know your local community best.

Why join us? 

Benefits for you and your institution

• International network: Connect directly with Open Access experts across Europe, build partnerships, and find peer-to-peer mentoring opportunities.
• Visibility: Your profile will be featured on the EDCH website and our communication channels, giving your work visibility at European level.
• Have a voice: Help us adapt EDCH services to fit the real, everyday needs of your local community.

For the EDCH and the community

• Local connections: You support us in connecting European open science initiatives with the reality of your local universities, libraries, book series, and journals.
• Stronger services: You aid us in making the suite of EDCH services more complete, specifically by growing our Registry, making our Forum lively, and keeping our Resources and Training Platform relevant for everyone.

What will you do?

We ask our Advocates to help promote and improve EDCH services during their 1 year term (last quarter of 2026 - last quarter of 2027). How you contribute will depend on your expertise, interests, and opportunities within your local community, but activities may include:

1. Animating the EDCH Forum

• Start conversations: Write at least one new post every month on the Forum. This can be a question, solution, presentation of a useful tool or resource, or news about Open Access developments in your country.
• Help the community: Participate in ongoing discussions to share your expertise, answer questions, and welcome new users.

2. Promoting the Training Platform & Resources and Guidelines

• Share learning materials and resources: Inform your colleagues and network about the free courses and materials available on the EDCH Training Platform and Resources & Guidelines.
• Gather feedback: Let us know what topics or skills your local community needs help with, so we can create tailored training modules and resources.

3. Supporting the Registry and DDH’s growth

• Promote the service: Share information about the Registry within your network to encourage organisations to sign up.
• Map your landscape: Help us identify Diamond OA organisations, publishers, book series and journals in your region so that our team can reach out to them.

4. Sharing news and updates

• Digital outreach: Share general EDCH news, new training releases, or events on your professional social media (like LinkedIn) or mailing lists.
• Events: If you attend a conference or a meeting about publishing, mention EDCH services or share our digital flyer (we will provide all materials).

Time commitment and meetings

• Duration: 1 year (last quarter of 2026 - last quarter of 2027).
• Time needed: Approximately 2-4 hours per month on average. Some months you may contribute more, while others less, depending on your schedule and opportunities. We aim to make the role flexible and easy to fit around your existing work schedule.

• Meetings: You will attend two short online meetings per year (one every six months) with the EDCH Community Manager to chat about your experience and explore how we can best support you.

   

Who can apply?

We are looking for individuals who:

• Are familiar with the Diamond Open Access landscape.
• Have an active professional network (at work, on social media, or in professional associations).

• Enjoy communicating, learning, and helping others!

   

How to apply

Send us a short message via the EDCH Forum introducing yourself, telling us why you're interested in becoming an EDCH Advocate, how you think you could help raise awareness of EDCH in your community, and one topic you would like to discuss or learn more about on our services and platforms. Deadline for applications is Wednesday 30th September 2026.

Support and resources provided

The EDCH team will fully support you with:

• The Advocate Starter Kit: Easy templates, ready-to-use text for social media, and guidebooks.
• A Private space: A dedicated, private group on the Forum just for Advocates to ask questions, share experiences, and collaborate.

• One to one meeting if needed to better support you in your work.

   

Keen to know more or have questions? Reach out to the EDCH team: contact@edch.eu