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Finch Report on Open Access

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!

Finch Report

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