The Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings (U.K.) has recently published “Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications.” It’s know as the Finch Report after chair Dame Janet Finch. Check it out online!
The report states:
“The principle that the results of research that has been publicly funded should be freely accessible in the public domain is a compelling one, and fundamentally unanswerable. Effective publication and dissemination is essential to realising that principle, especially for communicating to non-specialists. Improving the flows of the information and knowledge that researchers produce will promote
- enhanced transparency, openness and accountability, and public engagement with research;
- closer linkages between research and innovation, with benefits for public policy and services, and for economic growth;
- improved efficiency in the research process itself, through increases in the amount of information that is readily accessible, – reductions in the time spent in finding it, and greater use of the latest tools and services to organise, manipulate and analyse it; and
- increased returns on the investments made in research, especially the investments from public funds.”
Science Magazine’s recap: UK Panel Backs Open Access for All Publicly Funded Research Papers
Additional info: UK Says It Will Move to Open Access for Publicly Funded Research