The 2019-2025 review of the CNRS roadmap for open science highlights the role of the Center for Direct Scientific Communication (CCSD), operator of HAL and Episciences. Nearly 95% of the publications by the organization’s researchers are now open access, according to the CNRS’s internal barometer. The stated target remains 100%.
HAL, at the heart of the deposit policy
The CNRS formalized its open science policy in a roadmap published in 2019, after defining its orientations as early as 2018. HAL is a central tool in this: the organization has supported the development of the archive and strengthened incentives for depositing publications.
From 2019, deposits in HAL were encouraged as part of researchers’ activity reports (CRAC and Ribac). Starting in 2020, the inclusion of publications was contingent upon the deposit of their full text. The HAL-CNRS portal, launched in 2019 to showcase the organization’s scientific output, contained over 965,000 documents in September 2026. The 2019-2025 report counted 885,000.
HAL’s funding and governance have also evolved. A partners’ assembly has been established, and contributions from the 155 portals total €700,000 per year. Furthermore, the CNRS’s support in human resources has enabled the CCSD to double its staff in just a few years, according to the report.
Among the tools developed within the Equipex+ HALiance project is a repository suggestion service, designed in collaboration with the French National Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (Inist). It identifies publications suitable for inclusion in HAL and offers researchers the option to automatically import their full text. Approximately 20,000 documents have been added through this system. The project has also contributed to developing links between publications and research data.
The CNRS reports that nearly 95% of its researchers’ publications are now open access. This rate was assessed using the organization’s internal open science barometer, based on CRAC data. HAL is also among the seven infrastructures cited in the report as having obtained CoreTrustSeal certification.
Episciences and the diamond model
The report also highlights Episciences, an open access scientific journal platform. The CNRS, through its development, supports the so-called « diamond » model, in which both reading and publishing are free for readers and authors. The document links the strengthening of this model to the savings realized after the CNRS canceled its subscriptions to the Springer and Scopus databases, savings which were reinvested in academic infrastructure.
The CNRS was also one of the first signatories of the Diamond Open Access Action Plan, launched in Europe in March 2022. At the international level, Episciences participated in the first Global Summit on Diamond Open Access, organized in Toluca, Mexico, in 2023, as well as in OPERAS and Diamas conferences.
Twenty new journals have joined the platform since 2020. Their number reached 45 in 2025, then 47 in September 2026.
Training and international cooperation
The CCSD’s role extends beyond managing these platforms. The report highlights the overhaul of its training program for researchers and professionals in scientific and technical information. A training platform was launched in the last quarter of 2024, while new documentation dedicated to HAL was made available in 2024-2025.
The CCSD also contributes to international cooperation initiatives, notably the development of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and the work of COAR, a network that brings together more than 150 members and partners. The development and promotion of the Notify protocol are among its activities within this organization. This tool aims to facilitate interoperability between platforms such as HAL, Nakala, Recherche Data Gouv, and Software Heritage.
After hosting COAR’s annual meeting in Lyon in 2019, the CCSD saw its director, Nathalie Fargier, elected to the organization’s executive committee in 2025 for a three-year term. The CNRS’s Open Research Data Department also participates in COAR’s international meetings.
Source: CCSD – Articles (www.ccsd.cnrs.fr)
Original article: See the original source
Author: CCSD
