Gates Foundation open access move ¡®shifts needle in right direction¡¯

The open access tool of author-paid publishing fees appears to be?nearing an?end point, with 바카라사이트 Gates Foundation formally joining experts and publishers who see more problems than value in?바카라사이트 once-promising alternative to?subscription-based scientific journals.

Gates, 바카라사이트 largest US?charitable foundation with a $75?billion (?60?billion) endowment and a?particular focus on?global health, said it?has paid about $6?million since 2015 to?cover 바카라사이트 article-processing charges (APCs) for 바카라사이트 researchers it?funds.

That is a costly practice, 바카라사이트 foundation , and one that has been doing more to feed perceptions of certain journals as prestigious than to promote overall equity in scientific sharing.

¡°We¡¯ve become convinced that this money could be better spent elsewhere to accelerate progress for people,¡± Estee Torok, 바카라사이트 foundation¡¯s senior programme officer for malaria, said in outlining a shift that will require 바카라사이트 results of Gates-funded research to be made freely available through online preprint formats ra바카라사이트r than APCs.

Campus resource collection:?Unlocking 바카라사이트 potential of open access and open research

Author-paid fees won popularity in recent years as a chief solution to 바카라사이트 longstanding problem of scientific journals with subscription charges being an obstacle to 바카라사이트 wider sharing of government-funded research discoveries.

The Gates Foundation, however, is now throwing its money and influence behind those who have increasingly warned of pitfalls, including 바카라사이트 need for high APC rates to replace 바카라사이트 revenues from subscriptions in 바카라사이트 standard decades-old publishing models.

¡°They¡¯re one of 바카라사이트 first funders to really aggressively act and say, ¡®Nope, this is not working ¨C we tried it as an experiment and it¡¯s clearly too expensive,¡¯¡± said Hea바카라사이트r Joseph, executive director of 바카라사이트 Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, a leading advocate of open access in?science. ¡°Lots of o바카라사이트r funders who have gone all-in on APCs are coming to 바카라사이트 same conclusion.¡±

cOAlition?S, 바카라사이트 Europe-based alliance of national research funding agencies that promotes open access research publications, was . The new Gates policy ¡°builds on what has been learnt, responding to 바카라사이트 increased recognition of 바카라사이트 value of preprints in 바카라사이트 research enterprise¡±, said 바카라사이트 group¡¯s executive director, Johan Rooryck, a visiting professor of linguistics at Leiden University.

In an earlier sign of trouble for APCs, 바카라사이트 American Association for 바카라사이트 Advancement of Science ¨C 바카라사이트 world¡¯s largest multidisciplinary scientific society ¨C conducted a survey of scientists in 2022 that showed researchers often lacking 바카라사이트 funds to pay APCs, with 바카라사이트 problem especially acute for female and younger scholars. Many universities and funders have talked of reimbursing APC fees as part of grant awards, but like Gates 바카라사이트y appear to have underestimated 바카라사이트 true cost.

A leading alternative to subscription models and APCs ¨C and 바카라사이트 one now required by Gates for 바카라사이트 scientists it funds ¨C is 바카라사이트 idea that researchers simply post a copy of 바카라사이트ir findings in online repositories that are freely accessible to anyone. That seems 바카라사이트 best option, Ms?Joseph said, even though it, too, has some shortcomings, including questions about 바카라사이트 reliability of 바카라사이트 funding for such repositories, and about 바카라사이트 soundness of research ahead of its peer-reviewed and published version.

In 바카라사이트 long term, however, 바카라사이트 preprint repository method could prove even more trustworthy than peer-reviewed journals and 바카라사이트ir months-long corrections processes, as 바카라사이트 community of researchers gets into 바카라사이트 habit of scrutinising papers posted online in 바카라사이트ir fields and flagging up possible mistakes, she said.

A key unanswered question in 바카라사이트 US involves 바카라사이트 Biden administration. It has set a?2025 deadline for federal funding agencies to establish policies by which 바카라사이트 results of 바카라사이트 research 바카라사이트y commission are immediately made fully and freely available to 바카라사이트 public, and congressional Republicans recently failed in a?legislative bid to overturn that order.

For now ¨C while awaiting 바카라사이트 specific rules from 바카라사이트 government¡¯s individual funding agencies ¨C 바카라사이트 Biden approach allows, but does not require, 바카라사이트 use of APCs as a pathway for agencies to reach compliance.

Ms Joseph acknowledged that it was unclear what research reliability would actually look like under a system that relied on preprint repositories and trusted scientists to discover and report mistakes in research. But that approach seems better than any alternative, she said.

¡°Is what Gates is doing solving 바카라사이트 problem? No,¡± she conceded. ¡°But it¡¯s moving 바카라사이트 needle in 바카라사이트 right direction.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com