Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) Posts Response to European Commission Expert Group Report on Future of Scholarly Publishing and Scholarly Communication

From OASPA:

Earlier this year the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 expert group on Future of Scholarly Publishing and scholarly Communication (E03463) published a report: ‘Future of scholarly publishing and scholarly communication’  

The DG Research and Innovation has invited members of the Open Science Policy Platform (Expert Group E03436), of which OASPA is a member, to respond to the report. OASPA’s statement is shared below.

From OASAP’s Comments

We do agree though that cost-effective means of publishing at scale should be explored and, where possible, implemented in conjunction with funding mechanisms to support new systems into the future. OASPA supports a variety of business models and does not favour any in particular. The APC model of OA publishing is not the only model and we certainly do not want APCs to be a barrier to publication. We are very much aware of the potential inequity this business model creates, such as that between disciplines or between different geographical regions. Our vision is for a diverse, vibrant and equitable ecosystem that also promotes innovation and competition, one in which scholarly publishers play a valuable role as service providers. The nature of publishing is changing as, indeed, is its definition and the function of publishers.

We agree there is no good argument for maintaining the status quo.  In a world of global collaboration and increasing digitalisation, the key actors are tied together in an ever-changing landscape of scholarly research, academic career progression and the need to share findings and evaluate those of others. Outputs are varied and will become increasingly diverse. Some disciplines and communities of practice, such as those for the arts, humanities and social sciences, need extra attention if we are to include them in our shared vision for the future.

Read the All of OASAPA’s Comments (946 words)

See Also: Future of Scholarly Publishing and Scholarly Communication (Report of the Expert Group to the European Commission)(January 31, 2019)

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