Jisc has introduced a new approach to licensing open infrastructure solutions designed to help UK institutions adopt cost-effective, collaborative, and strategically aligned research alternatives. According to the announcement, the new offering advances open infrastructure as part of a diverse range of solutions and vendors.
The initiative was developed with support from the equitable licensing oversight group and is described as reinforcing Jisc’s commitment to advancing open research by strengthening underlying infrastructure intended to counter rising costs. The announcement states that the approach addresses several institutional pressure points, including growing demands on academic workloads resulting from increased article volumes and high per-article charges, while also noting that investment in open infrastructure reduces institutional risk associated with reliance on costly systems and supports innovation by restoring academic control over research outputs.
According to the announcement, the new offering will position open infrastructure as a credible alternative across the research lifecycle by highlighting tools and platforms that support open research at every stage. In its initial phase, the initiative spotlights open solutions that provide publishing and dissemination services, provides institutions with greater transparency on the costs of individual service components, and is described as helping to mitigate research integrity concerns linked to rapid article growth.
The announcement states that by reducing reliance on costly read-and-publish agreements, universities may redirect investment toward sustainable, community-driven solutions aligned with sector priorities. It also notes that sector-negotiated agreements are intended to increase trust in open solutions as a robust and scalable option, encouraging continued investment into open infrastructure and supporting future sustainability.
The initiative describes open tools as a credible and strategically sound option. According to the announcement, the evaluation process builds on assessments carried out by Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) and the Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS), and ensures that all included suppliers have passed comprehensive checks providing evidence of sustainability, compliance with open standards, and software compatibility. The announcement also states that the evaluation aligns with the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure, described as a set of guidelines by which open infrastructure organizations can be run sustainably.
According to the announcement, open infrastructure supports priorities including Research Excellence Framework (REF) Strategy, People and Research Environment (SPRE) indicators, open research policies, and financial sustainability through increased research visibility and preservation, removal of barriers to re-use, and expanded opportunities for international collaboration. It also states that open infrastructure enables engagement with open research practices beyond open publishing by embedding these tools into institutional workflows to ensure alignment with digital strategies and strengthen the UK’s research ecosystem.
Future phases of the initiative are expected to extend beyond publishing to include infrastructure supporting broader university activities.
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