Open Access News

The OECD study analyses scientific publishing's new business models, including open access publishing, open access archives and repositories, and subscription bundling and site-licensing, their impacts on science and diffusion of knowledge; and the role of governments in enhancing access to publicly funded research.

Among the main findings are:...[2] Overall, the balance is shifting towards direct access to primary data sources, which is having major impacts on publishers, [3] Three major business models depending on digital delivery are emerging:...[3a] The so-called "Big Deal"...,[3b] Open access publishing supported by author charges or other forms of institutional support on the research output supply-side..., [3c] Open access archives and repositories..., [5] In the immediate future there is likely to be a period of experimentation around various versions of open access publishing, including "author pays" and the emergence of a range of hybrids.

Among its main policy recommendations are:...[2] The report underlines the importance of enabling maximum access to findings from publicly funded research to maximise social returns on public investments, [3] This principle was underlined in the 2004 OECD Science Ministerial which recognised that open access to, and unrestricted use of, data promotes scientific progress and facilitates the training of researchers and will maximise the value derived from public investments in data collection efforts, [4] Coordinated efforts at national and international levels are needed to broaden access to data from publicly funded research and contribute to the advancement of scientific research and innovation.

Here's an excerpt from the forthcoming report:

Public funding and funding agencies (including private agencies) are very important in R&D and related activities that generate research data, databases and scientific publications. Access to public and government-funded research content is a crucial issue, and there is considerable potential for governments to provide a lead in enabling digital delivery and enhanced access to publicly funded scientific and technical information. The principle is to enable maximum access to findings from publicly funded research to maximise social returns on public investments. This general approach is captured in the Declaration on Access to Research Data from Public Funding adopted by OECD Science Ministers meeting in January 2004, which recognised “that open access to, and unrestricted use of, data promotes scientific progress and facilitates the training of researchers” and “will maximise the value derived from public investments in data collection efforts”, and entrusted the OECD to work towards the establishment of access regimes for digital research data from public funding.

Update (9/17/05). The full report is now online. Thanks to Lawrence Lessig for posting it.