Last Update: July 11, 2016
From users' perspective, arXiv continues to be a successful, prominent subject repository system serving the needs of many scientists around the world. However, under the hood, the service is facing significant pressures. The conclusion of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the Member Advisory Board (MAB) 2015 annual meetings was that, in addition to the current business model with a focus on maintenance, the arXiv team needs to embark on a significant fundraising effort, pursuing grants and collaborations. We need to first create a compelling and coherent vision to be able to persuasively articulate our fund raising goals beyond the current sustainability plan that aims to support the baseline operation. We’d like to use the approaching 25th anniversary of arXiv as an important milestone to engage us in a series of vision-setting exercises.
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- Prepare a report summarizing the key findings of the user survey - COMPLETED arXiv User Survey Report
- Based on the findings of the vision setting process, user study, and the IT workshop, start identifying priorities and funding sources to support next-gen arXiv development efforts
- Repeat the online fund raising campaign (Give button) to generate additional funds
Based on the findings of the user study and the IT workshop, consider hosting a meeting with a small group (10 - 12) to discuss our preliminary findings and consider the future of arXiv and the evolving nature of scientific communication (Planning Meeting II: arXiv@25) - DECIDED NOT HOLD SUCH A MEETING AS THE TEAM HAS ALREADY GATHERED SIGNIFICANT INPUT - COMPLETED - Design Design and implement a survey targeting arXiv's moderators (new addition to the strategy, June 10, 2016)
August-September 2016
- Submit a grant funding proposal in support of Phase I next-gen arXiv development efforts
- Design and implement a survey targeting arXiv's moderators - analyze results
- Continue to identify funding sources, make initial contacts
- Plan and hold SAB/MAB annual meeting to review findings and nascent work plans & develop strategies for moving us forward
October-December 2016
- Vision - grant writing and creating work plans (our hope is that by then through the planning activities during the last several months, we'll already have ideas for funding sources and even might have done some initial work)Next-gen arXiv Phase I: Create & implement work plans & make staffing arrangements