[BOAI] Funding for Open Access Publication Fees

[David Prosser]

*Apologies for cross-posting*

 

The Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) is calling for
greater clarity from research funders and institutions on the payment of
open access publication fees. With an ever growing number of high quality
open access journals available to authors there is still confusion regarding
the funding streams that authors can use to pay publication charges. OASPA
therefore welcomes the publication of a recent guide from the Research
Information Network (RIN) and Universities UK (UUK): Paying for Open Access
Publication Charges (http://www.rin.ac.uk/openaccess-payment-fees).

 

The Guide makes a number of helpful recommendations to both research funders
and institutions. In particular, the existence of funds out of which open
access publication charges can be made should be communicated to authors and
the criteria under which these funds may be used should be clearly defined.

 

Alerting authors to the existence of publication funds allows authors to
exercise greater choice in deciding which journals to submit their work to
and ensures that publications compete on quality, services to authors and
readers, and value-for-money. A recent series of studies by Professor John
Houghton and co-authors has suggested that open access may provide greater
returns on the investment tax-payers make on research than other access
mechanisms. (http://www.knowledge-exchange.info/Default.aspx?ID=316) To
realize these benefits funders and institutions should work on removing the
barriers to the free uptake of open access.

 

OASPA will work towards providing greater clarity and transparency on the
payment of open access publication charges and this is one topic that will
be discussed at the First Conference on Open Access Publishing to be held in
Lund, Sweden in September (http://www.oaspa.org/coasp/index.php)

 

David Prosser

On behalf of the OASAP Board

 

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