The FMES–IJME TechAugment Initiative
Theme | Subtheme: FMES systems strengthening | Strengthening digital platforms
Funding support: Ms. Rohini Nilekani, Bangalore, India
Duration: April 2015 – March 2016
Team: Sunita Sheel (Lead), Meenakshi D’Cruz (2008 onwards) with technical partner
Support team: Santosh Tirlotkar (2012 onwards)
Product/s delivered:
- Enhanced digital platform for Indian Journal of Medical Ethics;
- enhanced human capacities
Overview: Strengthening the digital platform as a strategic investment: We implemented the TechAugment Initiative to strengthen the technology platform of the FMES-IJME. This is one of our priority areas for the next five years. This has been necessitated by important changes in the context of healthcare delivery and health research needs on the one hand, and the ever-growing appeal of a digital platform on the other. Amongst other tasks, we refurbished and achieved modest modernisation of the website, while keeping it a free, open access journal. This has led to a stable website with improved access for users; a better organised online journal; and the customisation of an open software online manuscript management system. We have migrated the front end of the FMES-IJME portal to WordPress to further enhance its user-friendly character leaving the OJS only for back-end purposes to optimise its robustness. Towards enhancing the e-presence of IJME, we had initiated the assigning to each published manuscript a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Publishing houses, across the globe, are resorting to DOI assignments to ensure that each published piece is available in the web-space permanently, without the risk of losing access in case of migration of the material. The necessary groundwork has been completed. By the end of 2016, we were able not only to start assigning DOI to published work in IJME on an ongoing basis; but also for the entire body of materials published over the 24 years of its existence.