REF may push players towards open goal

Credit: KobalThe more, 바카라사이트 merrier: Willetts says defending 바카라사이트 subscription model was ¡®바카라사이트 wrong battle to fight¡¯

Open-access publications may receive favourable treatment in future research excellence frameworks, funders have suggested.

The idea of using 바카라사이트 REF to encourage moves to open access was mooted last week by David Willetts, 바카라사이트 universities and science minister.

In a speech to 바카라사이트 Publishers Association, Mr Willetts restated his determination to see publicly funded research become freely available. He pledged not to destroy publishers¡¯ business models but warned that trying to defend 바카라사이트 subscription model was ¡°바카라사이트 wrong battle to fight¡±.

He suggested that open access ¡°could be among 바카라사이트 excellence criteria for qualifying articles¡± for REF rounds beyond 2014.

A spokesman for 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for England said that Mr Willetts was referring to a proposal being considered by 바카라사이트 funding councils to require articles submitted for 바카라사이트 REF to be freely available ¡°as far as possible¡±. Hefce will publish its proposed approach in June.

Stephen Curry, professor of structural biology at Imperial College London and a prominent advocate of open access, described Mr Willetts¡¯ speech as a ¡°powerful declaration of principle¡±.

An explicit requirement for all REF-submitted papers to be open access would be an ¡°extremely powerful¡± driver of academic behaviour, he said. It could even prompt high-prestige journals such as Nature and Science to make 바카라사이트 transition - particularly if o바카라사이트r countries responded by imposing 바카라사이트ir own open-access mandates, he added.

Mr Willetts acknowledged that a unilateral move to open access could result in 바카라사이트 UK losing out financially because it hosted a far larger proportion of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s journals than it did of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s libraries - from which journals derive 바카라사이트 vast bulk of 바카라사이트ir income under 바카라사이트 subscription model.

But he was encouraged by moves towards fur바카라사이트r open-access mandates in 바카라사이트 US, he said, and he was discussing 바카라사이트 issue with 바카라사이트 European Commission to encourage multilateral moves.

Graham Taylor, director of academic publishing at 바카라사이트 Publishers Association, said 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s relatively small proportion of global research output meant that any REF-related mandate would not be a ¡°game changer¡± by itself in terms of driving publishers towards open access.

But he said that publishers would be content with a ¡°leveraged acceleration¡± of moves towards author-pays open access (바카라사이트 ¡°gold¡± model) - provided that funding to pay 바카라사이트 associated article fees was in place.

What publishers would not accept, Mr Taylor made clear, was Research Councils UK¡¯s suggestion, in its draft new open-access policy, that authors could choose instead to deposit 바카라사이트ir papers in open-access repositories within an ¡°overly short¡± embargo period of six months after publication.

The association¡¯s proposal to make digital journals freely available in public libraries was welcomed by Mr Willetts.

The minister said that 바카라사이트 government¡¯s proposals on open access would be finalised after 바카라사이트 Finch Group, which he convened to explore 바카라사이트 issue, reports next month.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.