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Public Access Submission System

Eclipse Foundation
Canada
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About

Launched: 2018
Record Updated: Sep 26, 2025
Submissions system
The Public Access Submission System (PASS) is an open source platform designed to be used by research teams to simplify the process of complying with the public access guidelines, policies, and requirements of funders and academic institutions. PASS combines information that it collects about journals, grants, publications, metadata, submission policies, and submission requirements to provide researchers with a customized and simplified submission workflow. This workflow guides researchers to provide the information necessary to ensure compliance with the policies of their institutions and funders and performs submissions on their behalf into the appropriate repository systems.

Mission

PASS supports open scholarship by reducing the barriers to compliance with university and funder access policies.

Key Achievements

The PASS development team completed a full rebuild of the PASS system in 2023, which included the replacement of the primary data stores, creation of a new API, creation of an automated build and deployment pipeline, and significant refactoring of the entire codebase. Regular releases continue to resolve issues and provide new capabilities. PASS is currently in production use at JHU.

The PASS community is in development. A pilot working group met regularly in 2023 to share information about the environments into which PASS may be deployed. This group identified the need for additional integrations to support a broader range of repository endpoints. Based on these findings, a new repository integration for InvenioRDM was added to PASS and documentation was improved for systems administrators and developers tasked with deploying or integrating with PASS. Conversations focused on institutional deployments of PASS continue to take place based on community needs.

Technical Attributes

Maintenance Status

Actively Maintained

Open Code Repository

Implemented
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Technical Documentation

Implemented
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Code License

Implemented
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Open API

Implemented
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Open Product Roadmap

Implemented
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Technical Attribute Statements

Programming Languages

  • java
  • javascript

Technology Readiness Level

  • Actual system proven in operational environment

Code Licenses Used

  • Apache License, Version 2.0

Content Licensing

The systems into which PASS performs deposits may define license terms, but PASS does not impose any license constraints.

Standards

Metadata

  • JSON
  • SWORD

Persistent Identifier

  • ORCiD

Integrations

  • DSpace
  • Invenio RDM
Other:

  • Grant management systems: COEUS, Fibi

  • Institutional repository systems: DSpace

  • US Agency repository systems: NIH PubMed Central

  • Crossref

Community Engagement

Code of Conduct

Implemented
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Community Engagement

In Progress

Contribution Guidelines or Fora

Implemented
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Community Statements

User Contribution Pathways

  • Contribute funds
  • Contribute to code
  • Contribute to documentation
  • Contribute to working groups or interest groups

Policies & Governance

Governance Summary

The Public Access Submission System (PASS) is a project of the Eclipse Foundation, which is governed by a Board of Directors.

Policies

Bylaws

Implemented
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Commitment to Equity & Inclusion

Implemented
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Privacy Policy

Implemented
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Governance Records

In Progress

Governance Structure & Processes

Implemented
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Policy Statements

Community Governance

  • Formal

Additional Information

Organizational History

The PASS project began development at Johns Hopkins University in 2017. It was launched as a service in 2018 in support of the JHU open access policy. In 2022, PASS transitioned to the stewardship of the Eclipse Foundation and embarked on a system-wide re-architecture. In 2023, the formal process of developing an open source community began and the newly developed system was deployed into production for the first time, paving the way for expanded features and collaboration.

Organizational Structure

Business or Ownership Model

Non-profit organization

Current Affiliations

  • Eclipse Foundation, Johns Hopkins University

Funding

Primary Funding Source

  • Contributions

Funding Needs

The PASS application was originally created at Johns Hopkins University and has transitioned to an open source community supported by the Eclipse Foundation. The move to the Eclipse Foundation allows the project to benefit from sound open source processes, defined governance models, and broader community growth opportunities. Funding is necessary for the procurement of staffing resources to support the development and operation of the open source community.
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