cOAlition S has announced that work has commenced on building the Journal Comparison Service to help the research community better understand if the publishing fees they pay are commensurate with the services delivered and to gain better insight into the elements of those services.
After concluding the tender process, the European Science Foundation (ESF), on behalf of cOAlition S, has assigned to Cottage Labs the task to build and provide the technical support for the Journal Comparison Service. Cottage Labs, a UK data services and software company with solid experience in providing open access services for academia, will deliver the work in partnership with Antleaf consultancy.
Under the contract, Cottage Labs will build a secure, multi-factor authentication web-based service which will enable academic publishers to upload data in accord with one of the approved cOAlition S Price and Service Transparency Frameworks. At the same time, approved users will be able to determine what services are provided and at what price for a given journal or compare the services offered and prices charged by several journals.
Providing information via this platform is an opportunity for publishers to demonstrate their commitment to open business models and cultures, build awareness of their services and value, and build understanding and trust.
In addition, ESF assigned to Information Power, a consultancy service specialising in Open Access and research information, the task to work with key stakeholders, such as publishers, library consortia (and their members), encourage them to engage with the Journal Comparison Service, and ensure that the service becomes a useful and well-used resource.
Beginning in Spring 2022, cOAlition S plans to release the Journal Comparison Service in a phased approach, starting with accepting data from publishers. The online service will be accessible to authorised users later in Summer 2022.
Click here to read the original press release.
