France
Core Member:
CNRS
Founded in 1939, the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) is the largest French public organization dedicated to scientific research. Covering various scientific fields, including the humanities and social sciences, CNRS ranks as the third-largest research center globally. Its primary mission is to identify, conduct, or support research that contributes to scientific, technological, social, and cultural progress in the country.
Since its inception, CNRS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach and promotes dialogue among different scientific disciplines as well as with societal stakeholders.It regularly participates in numerous European projects aimed at promoting open scholarly communication in the field of social sciences and humanities. It is also responsible for the OpenEdition infrastructure, which plays a pivotal role in the establishment of OPERAS and the development of open science on a European scale.
About : https://www.cnrs.fr/fr
Supporting Members:
DGLFLF – General Delegation for the French language and languages of France
The DGLFLF, affiliated to the French Ministry of Culture, is in charge of leading the language policy of the country. Collaborating with public and private partners, it aims to promote the French language and linguistic diversity. Its commitment is reflected in both territorial and international language policies, involving networks of cooperation amongst French-speaking and European entities.
Its objective is to facilitate the exchange of best practices and expertise on language policies. Additionally, it supports the implementation of projects aimed at strengthening the impact of its language policy in society. Some of its missions include the promotion and dissemination of the French language, as well as its development and enrichment.
Paris Nanterre University
Paris-Nanterre University is a versatile French university institution, offering a diversified range of academic programs and research activities that encompass a broad spectrum of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Each year, it welcomes over 35,000 students. Its network of university libraries comprises 14 establishments.
The library of Paris-Nanterre University offers a variety of collections in paper format, including books, theses, journals, films, and DVDs. Additionally, it provides access to numerous online documents. All members of the Paris Nanterre community, whether staff or students, have access to these online resources acquired by the libraries.
These resources are available through several dozens of databases, which offer ebooks, scientific journals (all systematically referenced individually in our catalog), online encyclopedias, legal precedents, press articles, as well as various specialized online corpora.
About : https://bu.parisnanterre.fr/
DARIAH ERIC
Established in 2014 as the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), DARIAH, also known as the Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities, boasts 22 member countries and several collaborating partner institutions worldwide. This infrastructure is dedicated to advancing research and education in the arts and humanities through digital means. It operates as a network, harnessing the expertise, resources, and technologies of its member countries to support ICT-based research practices.
DARIAH plays a crucial role in bringing together research and initiatives in digital arts and humanities across Europe. Its efforts contribute to advancing research methods in the arts and humanities, focusing particularly on challenges such as diversity, provenance, multimedia collections, and granularity.
DARIAH fosters collaboration and integration among national services through a network of over 20 dynamic working groups. These working groups are structured through Virtual Competence Centers (VCCs) specializing in various subjects such as Scientific Content Management, E-infrastructure, Research and Education Liaison, and Advocacy, Impact, and Outreach.
About : https://www.dariah.eu/about/dariah-in-nutshell/
INRAE
As the world’s leading institute for research on agriculture, food, and environment, the French National Research Institute INRAE is helping address these challenges. Through research, innovation, and support for public policy, it contributes to the development of sustainable agricultural and food systems. The institute conducts science dedicated to life, people, and the planet, uncovering solutions to today’s most pressing concerns. INRAE operates major research infrastructures (e.g., observatories, technical platforms, data repositories), including some that are unique in Europe.
INRAE is also a globally recognised leader in scientific and technical publishing. It owns nineteen journals, including eleven internationally renowned research journals and five knowledge-transfer journals aimed at professionals and societal stakeholders. Fifteen of these journals offer open access to their articles upon publication, several of them following the Diamond OA model. Together with Cirad and Ifremer, INRAE is one of the three founding research institutes behind the publishing house Quæ, a major player in scientific and technical books publishing in France, with a catalogue of more than 1,500 titles, several hundred of which are available in Open Access.
For more information visit: https://www.inrae.fr/en
Ordinary Members:
OpenEdition : French National Node
OpenEdition serves as the French national node of the OPERAS infrastructure. In its role as a national node, its function is to coordinate the national community of OPERAS France.
OpenEdition is a comprehensive infrastructure for electronic publishing in the humanities and social sciences, created and operated by OpenEdition Center. It brings together complementary platforms dedicated to journals (OpenEdition Journals), book series (OpenEdition Books), research blogs (Hypotheses) and academic announcements (Calenda). In 2019, OpenEdition received more than 6.5 million visits per month from all around the world. OpenEdition’s mission is to encourage the development of high-level electronic publishing on an international scale. OpenEdition was born from a very simple idea: the various actors in academic publishing were being drowned out by the vast ocean of the web and their efforts were being dispersed. Grouped around a central federating platform (OpenEdition) and specialized platforms (OpenEdition Journals, OpenEdition Books, Calenda, Hypothèses), other economies of scale are possible. A critical mass of content, technologies and skills means our role is not limited to publishing academic documents online, but also to offering training in new publishing practices, reaching out internationally, developing a sustainable economic model and regular technological innovation
For more information visit: openedition.org
Huma-Num
Huma-Num is a very large research infrastructure which aims to facilitate the digital turn in Humanities and Social Sciences. To perform its missions, Huma-Num’s organization is based on two pillars:
- consortia, funded by Huma-Num, which are composed of research projects and teams sharing common scientific interests;
- a unique technological device, provided on a national scale and based on a vast network of partners.
This infrastructure offers a variety of platforms and tools to store (HumaNum-Box), process (shared toolbox), share (NAKALA) and link (ISIDORE) research data. Huma-Num is entrusted with France’s participation in two European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC): DARIAH (Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities) and CLARIN (Common Language Resources and Technologies Infrastructure). It is also involved in other European projects (H2020) and different international initiatives.
For more information visit: huma-num.fr
Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH)
Founded in 1963, the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH) advances research in the humanities and social sciences to shed light on past worlds, understand contemporary societies, and anticipate future transformations.
A public-interest foundation, it develops programs in support of scholarly communities, helping to accelerate the production and dissemination of knowledge. Each year, FMSH supports nearly 400 researchers and provides access to more than 80,000 resources, thereby contributing to the visibility and influence of the humanities and social sciences in France and internationally.
Réseau français des instituts d’études avancées (RFIEA-AGIR)
Established in 2007 by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR), the RFIEA Foundation is an organization dedicated to promoting French research in the humanities and social sciences. Its main objective is to support the development of advanced study institutes in France and to promote initiatives aimed at internationalizing research in these fields. It also works to coordinate and strengthen the four advanced study institutes located in Aix-Marseille, Lyon, Nantes, and Paris, within the framework of a common scientific strategy focused on excellence in the humanities and social sciences.
The foundation establishes with the French Government a convention detailing the objectives related to international openness and the implementation of a common scientific strategy, as well as the scientific and financial indicators allowing to monitor their implementation.
About: http://rfiea.fr/
TGIR Progedo (CNRS)
TGIR Progedo is an infrastructure that fosters data culture in the humanities and social sciences, specializing particularly in survey data. It supports the creation and dissemination of international surveys and promotes the use of public statistics by researchers. It operates both at the local and national levels as well as internationally.
Some examples of major multidisciplinary surveys in which PROGEDO participates at the European level include the ESS (European Social Survey); SHARE (Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe); GGP (Generations and Gender Programme); EVS (European Value Study); ISSP (International Social Survey Programme), as well as the ERIC CESSDA (Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives), which facilitates networking of European data banks in the humanities and social sciences.
At the national level, PROGEDO contributes through the Quételet-PROGEDO portal to the dissemination, archiving, and documentation of French data from surveys or public statistics, hosting data from several institutions. Additionally, PROGEDO supports the Centre d’Accès Sécurisé aux Données for secure access to detailed individual data.
About : https://www.progedo.fr/
Lorraine University
With an outreach across 2 metropolises, 10 towns & cities and urban areas within its region, Université de Lorraine invests wholeheartedly in knowledge production and sharing. It is committed to raising the level of citizens’ educational attainment through intensive research involving both the basic and applied strands. Université de Lorraine resolutely committed itself to the path of Open Science at the beginning of the decade 2010, leading to the first seminar on the subject in 2016. Since then, this commitment has been gradually expanded, with a series of annual colloquia, institutional and financial support for open editorial initiatives, and the adoption of the national archive HAL as the University’s official bibliography in 2018. Since 2019, a dedicated steering committee has been at work, accompanied by three operational committees on open publication, data and software, with the aim of providing researchers with a secure environment to enable them to more easily cope with current developments in the world of research.
Open Science at Université de Lorraine: https://scienceouverte.univ-lorraine.fr/en/home/
University Press of Rennes
Established in 1984 at the initiative of the teaching staff and researchers at Rennes 2 University, the University Press of Rennes (PUR) emerged with the aim of overseeing the publication and promotion of research outcomes in the field of humanities and social sciences. Over time, this editorial network expanded to include 12 partner universities, thereby contributing to making PUR one of the most influential public publishing houses in France. Their mission is to disseminate a wide range of disciplines in the Francophone world. The adoption of an independent and quality-focused editorial policy is ensured by the presence of an editorial committee composed of representatives from the 12 partner universities.
The purpose of the Presses Universitaires de Rennes is to closely reconcile scientific rigor with the imperative of dissemination among the most diverse segments of society. This reconciliation is based on a dual conviction, upheld on a daily basis: firstly, the certainty that publication constitutes the arena where sciences are put to the test and where they demonstrate their validity (through criticism and debate, the demonstration of rationality and argumentation); secondly, the belief that solid, clear, and distinct publications represent the privileged tool not only for the advancement of knowledge but also for the education, instruction, and emancipation of all citizens.
The University Presses produce specialized collections for research, publishing textbooks in a series called Didact ; distributing journals, and creating essays and books with illustrations to reach a broader audience. All publications are available in libraries, can be ordered from their website, or accessed directly through electronic open-access platforms, including the most notorious in the country such as Cairn, Numilog; OpenEdition Journals; OpenEdition Books; and Persée.
About : https://pur-editions.fr/
Association of European University Presses
Established in 2010, The Alliance of European University Presses strives to amplify the recognition of its members, foster effective communication amongst them, exchange expertise on scholarly publishing, and provide mutual support. Composed of 50 members from 18 countries, the AEUP serves as a platform for university presses to connect, familiarize themselves with one another, and form partnerships. Through collaboration, member presses have the opportunity to exchange insights, adopt best practices, and collectively elevate their visibility across Europe.
About: https://www.aeup.eu/
European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanities – EASSH
EASSH is the largest advocacy and science policy organisation for the social sciences and humanities in Europe.
The alliance has over 70 member organisations including a wide range of disciplinary areas, stakeholders and universities from across Europe – and encompassing over 100,000 researchers.
About: https://eassh.eu/
CAIRN.info
Cairn.info aims to promote the discovery of high-quality Francophone academic research while fostering the independence and diversity of actors within the knowledge ecosystem. Cairn.info was officially designated a mission-driven company in 2023.
About: https://shs.cairn.info/?lang=en
Pleias is a French startup specialised in developing frugal language models (LLMs) (<3B parameters) and sovereign AI assistants enabling organizations to deploy AI at scale, ethically and economically. Our value proposition rests on three fundamental pillars:
– Pre-training foundation models on high-quality data with exclusively permissive licences
– Training energy-efficient models specialized in Retrieval Augmented Generation and massive data processing
– Development of custom AI agents and solutions for regulated industries
About: https://pleias.fr