DIRNA general objectives are to improve the management, visibility, and accessibility of scientific research outputs – research results, reports, publications, datasets, software, etc. – in Azerbaijani HEIs by establishing new or enhancing existing Open Access Institutional Repositories (OAIRs), improving institutional capacity for the management and sharing of research outputs held within the repositories.
The project will serve identified needs by building the model of digitization university output to guide and methodologically support the education process within identified education institutions in Azerbaijan, which will further disseminate this idea and model to others.
More wider objective is to sustainably enhance the practice of research output management in the Azerbaijani HEIs through enabling OAIRs as well as the advocacy in support of Open Access to research outputs.

Supporting research activities will address issues such as:

• Identify needs within the Azerbaijani higher education institutions for digital asset management services, and a deployment strategy to satisfy these needs.
• Investigate the needs of academic Schools which a repository could meet and identify cultural issues that may act as a barrier for populating such a repository.

Specific Objectives of the project:

• design and build capacity for 7 OAIRs developing in order to meet technological needs of faculties and researchers at all stages of their career and improving and providing quality research materials through usage of innovative technologies;
• prepare training and teaching material meeting the local needs for building capacity in implementing OAIR;
• scale-up the Khazar University IR to serve as a flexible central repository of knowledge supporting the Azerbaijani Universities’ teaching, research, and related activities;
• maximize the visibility, use and impact of the scientific and academic output in Azerbaijani research community and beyond;
• provide access to teaching and learning materials on inclusive education for disabled person;
• produce or provide storage for the electronic publications of the Azerbaijani higher education institutions;
• share widely the skills gained and to assist non-partner AZ HEIs in setting up their OAIR.