Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications

This report, Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications, is the product of a year’s work by a committed and knowledgeable group of individuals drawn from academia, research funders and publishing. The task which we were set was by no means straightforward. We were charged with recommending how to develop a model, which would be both effective and sustainable over time, for expanding access to the published findings of research. There is no simple answer to the question set. Indeed had there been a simple answer there would have been no need to undertake this exercise. Members of the group represented different constituencies who have legitimately different interests and different priorities, in relation to the publication of research and its subsequent use. What united them however was a commitment to work towards an outcome which, although inevitably not perfect from any constituency’s individual perspective, would signal an acceptable and sustainable future. I believe that this report represents such an outcome, though inevitably there will continue to be debates about the best way of progressing these objectives. This could not have been achieved without the high level of commitment shown by group members, their willingness to cooperate in this enterprise and the sheer amount of work which was undertaken by many people – including members of three sub-groups - to get us to the final outcome. This was a working group in the fullest sense, and I am enormously grateful to all its members. I would also like to single out Michael Jubb, and his colleagues at the Research Information Network, who provided the Secretariat, including drafting the final report and bringing unrivalled expertise to the group’s deliberations. It has been a great privilege for me to chair this exercise, and I look forward to seeing our recommendations taken forward.