OPERAS Open Access Business Models White Paper

The white paper on Business Models for Open Access proposes that there is no single ideal business
model for Open Access that can be adopted as standard. It describes the current landscape in which
there are multiple approaches to OA publishing, many of which are adopted by OPERAS members
to suit their particular circumstances, although the APC and BPC models still predominate especially
among commercial publishers. The paper describes the business models adopted by members both
from the point of view of publishers, and of service providers such as Knowledge Unlatched, as well
as looking at models emerging elsewhere such as in the USA and at national level in some European
countries, where interesting collaborative approaches are being undertaken. The paper analyses the
pros and cons of different models, and concludes with some suggestions for ways of bringing greater
stability and sustainability to Open Access publishing models.