[GOAL] RCUK Continue to Mandate Green OA Despite Finch Report

[Stevan Harnad]

**Cross-Posted**

Despite the recommendation of the Finch report and UK Science and
Universities Minister David Willets to downgrade repository use to the
storage and preservation of data, theses and unpublished work
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jul/15/free-access-british-scientific-research?newsfeed=true

the UK research funding councils, RCUK, have re-confirmed their policy of
mandating Green OA:

*"The new policy, which will apply to all qualifying publications being
submitted for publication from 1 April 2013, states that peer reviewed
research papers which result from research that is wholly or partially
funded by the Research Councils… must be published in journals which are
compliant with Research Council policy on Open Access.*
*
*
*"Criteria which journals must fulfill to be compliant with the Research
Councils’ Open Access policy are detailed within the policy, but include
offering a “pay to publish” option or allowing deposit in a subject or
institutional repository after a mandated maximum embargo period..."*
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/media/news/2012news/Pages/120716.aspx


This is eight years almost to the day in 2004 when the UK Parliamentary
Select Committee made its revolutionary recommendation to mandate Green OA:

*"This Report recommends that all UK higher education institutions
establish institutional repositories on which their published output can be
stored and from which it can be read, free of charge, online. It also
recommends that Research Councils and other Government funders mandate
their funded researchers to deposit a copy of all of their articles in this
way." *
*
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmsctech/399/39903.htm
*


At that time, despite the fact that the UK government (under pressure from
the publishing lobby) decided to ignore the Select Committee's
recommendation to mandate Green OA, RCUK and many UK universities adopted
Green OA mandates anyway. As a result, the UK became the global leader in
the tranistion to Open Access.

If heeded, the Finch Committee recommendation to downgrade repository use
to the storage and preservation of data, theses and unpublished work would
have set back global OA by at least a decade.

Fortunately, the RCUK is again showing its sense and independence. Let us
hope UK's universities -- not pleased that scarce research funds, instead
of being increased, are to be decreased to pay extra needlessly for Gold OA
-- will likewise continue to opt instead for cost-free Green OA by
mandating it.

If so, the UK will again have earned and re-affirmed its leadership role in
the global transition to universal OA.
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