The West Midlands Evidence Repository (WMER) : a consortium project to connect NHS staff and the public with NHS research (presentation)

Abstract

The West Midlands Evidence Repository (WMER) represents a project which has connected a group of NHS libraries in a consortium. Prior to its establishment, four members of the consortium, from four Black Country Trusts, were part of the British Library national repository project aimed at NHS Trusts, which unfortunately was unsuccessful. Another Trust, from Birmingham, already had its own institutional repository, but this had come up for renewal. The WMER project was therefore established in 2022 to replace these repositories and create a new joint resource. This project represents a new endeavour for the now nine consortium libraries who have come together, requiring new learning and new ways of working. This presentation initially outlines how the consortium was formed, through to the establishment of managing WMER as business as usual and looking to take on new members. But what is WMER? Firstly, WMER is an institutional repository. It stores metadata and, depending on the individual Trust, full text of research outputs in electronic format. This can include formal journal articles, books, and book chapters, as well as grey literature which otherwise is often lost, such as reports, innovation projects, and conference proceedings. As an institutional repository, therefore, WMER allows for the collation of each organisation’s research in one place and archiving of full text of that research where applicable. However, WMER also allows access to that metadata and full text by sharing it publicly online. As a tool to connect people to research, the repository acts within the individual Trusts and the consortium as a knowledge mobilisation and staff awareness tool. Notably, it helps staff to connect to research both internally within their own Trust and externally to research from other organisations. In addition, WMER also enables staff to connect with fellow researchers. This has the potential to foster local and regional research cultures, and lead to collaborative research both within and across organisations. Furthermore, WMER allows the general public to connect with the research conducted within the consortium organisations. This means there is accountability for how public money is spent, but also means the consortium Trusts’ research can be seen and used easily throughout the world, increasing its overall impact, and the reputation of the Trusts as research organisations. In this regard, WMER as an institutional repository is also essential for the organisations to engage with modern research practices embodied by open scholarship or open science and specifically the open access agenda. WMER and the consortium are continuing to grow. More research is being added each day, an additional Trust has recently joined, and six more Trusts have expressed an interest in joining.