Opening up the access to scientific information is an increasing demand and crucial need for researchers and also for all citizens, communities and societies: VOA3R, the European initiative for the Virtual Open Access Agriculture & Aquaculture Repository, has established the online platform connecting digital libraries and facilitating virtual communities with unique opportunities for sharing scientific and scholarly research related to agriculture, food, and environment.

This publication presents the main outcomes and recommendations of VOA3R, the European initiative for the Virtual Open Access Agriculture & Aquaculture Repository. This flagship project supported by the European Commission facilitated, improved and sustained the open access to all European and international digital contents, scientific information and research results as well as their online discussion and exchange.

The main recommendations derived and drawn from the selected five key tasks and activities (quality management, elicitation of the user requirements, social networking services, content population, and evaluation by experiments and trials) were presented in brief: They were also identified by the evaluation of the experiments and trials and and their relation between the two dimensions required efforts (indicated by the realization type from easy to difficult) and expected effects (indicated by the impact from short- to long-term) were indicated in a first overview. That allows also other and future initiative to benefit from the achieved VOA3R results and insights.

VOA3R has achieved successfully its objectives and went beyond them, also analysed and evaluated through the experiments and trials: VOA3R could establish the online platform connecting digital libraries and facilitate services and social networking including virtual communities.
Thus, it can be summarized that VOA3R provided and continuously provides through the sustainability strategy unique opportunities for sharing scientific and scholarly research related to agriculture, food, and environment. For open access to the best scientific information in Europe and worldwide!