Looking for a way to effectively streamline your internal grant submission and review process? Consider using an adapted version of Open Journals Systems (OJS) to facilitate this process. The University of Waterloo Libraries is now hosting OJS sites to facilitate the submission and review processes of internal grants.
What is OJS?
Open Journal Systems (OJS) is an open-source software designed to manage and publish scholarly journals online. OJS was developed by the Public Knowledge Project in 2002 and has over 50,000 active installations globally. OJS has been adapted by the Libraries to support the submission and review processes of internal grant competitions at the University of Waterloo.
Service Description
The University of Waterloo Libraries offers a hosting service for a submission and review OJS site for internal grants administered by University of Waterloo staff members.
The service includes:
- OJS site hosting and technical support
- Initial OJS site set up
- For continuity and branding purposes, Libraries encourages users to use the Libraries provided theme;
- A URL will be generated for the Grants Site in the following format: https://grants.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/[grant initials].
- OJS training
Service Eligibility
To be eligible for this service, you must be:
- A staff member working for a Granting Organization* at the University of Waterloo.
- Be responsible for the administration of an internal grant competition at the Granting Organization*.
*Granting Organizations are defined as departments, units, or groups at the University of Waterloo that provide financial support in the form of grants to University of Waterloo faculty members for research purposes.
Intake Process
You must submit a request through the OJS Grants Site Intake Form for this service. The Libraries require 4 weeks of lead time, at minimum, to complete grants site work.
You will receive a response from the Digital Repositories Librarian in 1-3 business days. After completing the form, the DRL will email you to schedule a meeting.
Intake Form Instructions
- Submit one request per grants site in the form. For example, if you are supporting a larger grant that houses smaller internal grants with different application criteria, you would submit one request for each of the smaller grants.
- The grant manager (i.e., the staff member administering the grant) MUST be the form submitter.
Memorandum of Understanding
All granting organizations are required to review and sign University of Waterloo Libraries Grant Hosting Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) prior to receiving service from the Libraries.
- If you are an employee at the Office of Research, this service is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding signed on August 2025. These terms will be reviewed with you by the Digital Repositories Librarian. You are NOT required to sign another MoU agreement.
- If you work for a separate Granting Organization outside the Office of Research, you will be required to review and sign the OJS Grants MoU created by the Libraries. Please complete the intake form, and the Digital Repositories Librarian will follow up with further details.