Research Councils UK (RCUK) has published an independent study commissioned by the Research Councils to identify the effects and assess the impact of open access to research outputs on pay-to-publish and self-archiving publishing models. The purpose of the study was to identify the effects and impacts of open access on publishing models and institutional repositories in light of national and international trends. This included the impact of open access on the quality and efficiency of scholarly outputs, specifically journal articles.
The report presents options for the Research Councils to consider, such as maintaining the current variation in Research Councils' mandates, or moving towards increased open access, eventually leading to Gold Standard.
In response to the study, the Chief Executives of the Research Councils have agreed that over time the UK Research Councils will support increased open access, by building on their mandates on grant-holders to deposit research papers in suitable repositories within an agreed time period; and extending their support for publishing in open access journals, including through the pay-to-publish model.
RCUK is now beginning this implementation process through a number of cross-Research Council working groups. The Council will liaise with all interested parties, including the academic community, publishers, and organisations such as JISC and the Research Information Network.
The final report is available for download at http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/cmsweb/downloads/rcuk/news/oareport.pdf.
