BIS Select Committee report on open access

Commenting on the report into open access by the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, said:

“We welcome the committee’s report, which highlights the vital role that ‘green’ open access can play as the UK moves towards full open access.  We have always said we are committed to open access. But the committee rightly highlights that ‘green’ open access is a simple and cost-effective way of sharing research. We urge the Government to take note of the calls to reconsider its preference for ‘gold’ open access during the five year transition period.

“However, we have real reservations about the committee’s recommendation to restrict embargo periods to six months for STEM subjects and 12 months for humanities, arts and social sciences. This will directly limit where researchers can publish, will constrain academic freedom and could potentially damage the international standing of UK universities.

“It is vital that pursuing open access should not come at the expense of the UK’s world-class research. We estimate that funding from the Research Councils will only cover the publication of 10% of research from Russell Group universities in the ‘gold’ open access format. And, whilst academics and businesses abroad will have free access to our research, UK universities will still have to pay subscriptions to access theirs.”

Notes to Editors

1. Read the full report from the Select Committee here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills/news/on-publ-open-access/
2. Gold Open Access requires the research author to pay additional charges up-front so that the research paper is free to access once published online.
3. Green Open Access requires no additional fees to be paid and the paper becomes open access after an embargo period set by the publisher. Before this time the paper can be accessed through journal subscription.