[BOAI] Press release: "Open Access publication can save the Netherlands up to 133 million euros"

[Peter Suber]

[Forwarding from SURF.  --Peter Suber.]


Press release

"Open Access publication can save the Netherlands up to 133 million euros"

Australian researcher puts a figure on benefits 
of Open Access to scientific and scholarly information.

Utrecht, 10 June 2009 – If every scientific and 
scholarly article were publicly available, it 
would save the Netherlands EUR 133 million a 
year. That figure is given by the Australian 
economist Prof. John Houghton in a study that 
SURFfoundation presented today to the Dutch 
Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

At the moment, research universities and 
“universities of applied sciences” [hogescholen] 
pay millions of euros every year for access to 
scientific and scholarly publications. 
Businesses, smaller hogescholen, and other 
organisations often cannot afford the expensive 
licences needed for access. If the “Open Access” 
model were to be applied globally, there would be 
increased access to research results for both 
researchers and the public at large.

The study Costs and Benefits of Research 
Communication: The Dutch Situation compares three 
publication models. The greatest advantage is 
offered by the Open Access model, which means 
that the research institution or the party 
financing the research pays for publication and 
the article is then freely accessible. Adopting 
this model could lead to an annual saving of EUR 
133 million. Even if the Netherlands were the 
only country to adopt this publication model and 
continued to pay for licences to access 
periodicals, there would still be a saving of EUR 37 million.

The report concludes that the advantages would 
not just be in the long term; in the transitional 
phase too, more open access to research results would have positive effects.

The director of SURFfoundation, Wim Liebrand, 
welcomed the results of Prof. Houghton’s study: 
“The study makes clear that Open Access offers a 
realistic alternative to the traditional 
publisher’s model based on licences. 
SURFfoundation has been working for some years 
now with publishers, authors, scientists, and 
scholars to develop publication models that are 
more cost-effective. Prof. Houghton’s report is a big boost for that work.”

The study was commissioned by SURFfoundation and 
forms part of a series of similar studies carried 
out in Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom. 
A survey will soon be published of the advantages 
that Open Access publication offers in those countries.

The full text of the study can be downloaded 
here: 
http://www.surffoundation.nl/en/publicaties/Pages/CostsandBenefitsofOpenAccessPublicationlTheDutchSituation.aspx.

Title: Costs and Benefits of Research Communication: The Dutch Situation

Authors: John Houghton, Centre for Strategic 
Economic Studies, Victoria University, Melbourne, 
and Jos de Jonge & Marcia van Oploo, EIM and Research voor Beleid, Zoetermeer

About SURFfoundation
SURFfoundation enables breakthrough education and 
research. We initiate, guide and stimulate ICT 
innovation through sharing knowledge and 
partnerships. SURFfoundation is a partner in 
SURF, the collaborative organisation in which 
research universities, universities of applied 
sciences and research institutions aimed at 
innovative ICT facilities operate at a national and an international level.

More information
SURFfoundation

Annette Peet
M +31 (0)6 12507877
E peet at surf.nl

Whizpr
Winnie Silvertand
T +31 (0)317 410 483
E surffoundation at whizpr.nl