The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is set to introduce an open access policy next month for the studies it funds that goes further than most other research funders.
According to Trevor Mundel, the foundation's president of global health, the policy will enable other researchers to access the latest evidence and draw on it to advance their own research to help tackle malnutrition, infectious diseases, and child and maternal mortality.
Observers say the foundation's move may inspire other funders to adopt similarly stringent open access policies too. There are also concerns that developing world scientists who receive funds from the foundation may be prevented from publishing research in local journals, some of which lack open access options.
From the start of 2017, researchers funded by the foundation will be required to publish their scientific papers and underlying data in publications that allow immediate free access without subscription or payment. The material must also be reusable without permission or fee.
For funding agreements made during a two-year transition period beginning January 1, 2015, the foundation will allow a 12-month embargo, enabling publishers to restrict access to a paper for up to a year. The foundation says it will pay 'reasonable fees' that a publisher requires to publish on these terms.
Open access enthusiasts hope the move will encourage other organisations to follow suit.
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