[ISSI] Access to Research Outputs

[Quentin L. Burrell]

Here's a news release on this statement. Includes some links that might be
of interest.

Research councils back free online access

Thousands of British academics in every subject from art history to
zoology will soon be required to make their research freely available
online, the UK research councils have announced.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,1517381,00.html


Quentin

Dr Quentin L Burrell
Isle of Man International Business School
The Nunnery
Old Castletown Road
Douglas
Isle of Man IM2 1QB
via United Kingdom

www.ibs.ac.im

----- Original Message -----
From: "Subbiah Arunachalam" <arun at MSSRF.RES.IN>
To: <ISSI at LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES>
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2005 5:31 AM
Subject: [ISSI] Access to Research Outputs


Friends:

Please visit http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/access/cover.asp for a statement on
access to research outputs released by the Research Councils UK. This is
something that research councils/ funding agencies/ governments in every
developing country should adopt.

Arun
[Subbiah Arunachalam]



Covering note on Access to Research Outputs: Further Consultation Details.
Research Councils UK (RCUK) is a strategic partnership through which the
UK's eight Research Councils work together to champion the research,
training and innovation they support. Dissemination of and access to UK
research outputs is crucial to ensure impact of RCUK funded research. The
development of internet technologies providing access to a range of
distributed information resources has enabled new possibilities for the
delivery of information as an output of research. E-print repositories and
open access journals have both developed as part of this change in
technology, and RCUK considers that both can help improve access to the
results of publicly funded research.

RCUK is therefore further consulting on its proposed position on access to
research outputs. The position is based on four principles:

  a.. Ideas and knowledge derived from publicly-funded research must be made
available and accessible for public use, interrogation, and scrutiny, as
widely, rapidly and effectively as practicable.
  b.. Effective mechanisms are in place to ensure that published research
outputs must be subject to rigorous quality assurance, through peer review.
  c.. The models and mechanisms for publication and access to research
results must be both efficient and cost-effective in the use of public
funds.
  d.. The outputs from current and future research must be preserved and
remain accessible not only for the next few years but for future
generations.
Specifically, it proposes to:

  a.. Require for all grants awarded from 1 October 2005 that, subject to
copyright and licensing arrangements, a copy of any resultant published
journal articles or conference proceedings should be deposited in an
appropriate e-print repository (either institutional or subject-based)
wherever such a repository is available to the award-holder. Deposit should
take place at the earliest opportunity, wherever possible at or around the
time of publication.
  b.. Research Councils will also encourage, but not formally oblige,
award-holders to deposit articles arising from grants awarded before 1
October 2005.
  c.. Councils will ensure that applicants for grants are allowed, subject
to justification of cost-effectiveness, to include in the costing of their
projects the predicted costs of any publication in author-pays journals.
The statement is intended as a broad framework, which will serve as the
basis for RCUK to draw up more detailed guidance and to determine good
practice, in close collaboration with a range of key stakeholders as set out
in this document. By the end of 2008, RCUK will review its framework.

RCUK has already undertaken extensive consultation with key stakeholders,
including universities, publishers (profit, no-for-profit, open access),
JISC, the British Library, HEFCE, and learned societies, to inform its
current position. RCUK is very pleased with the useful feedback received and
would like to thank everyone who has commented so far. The current proposed
statement is now being circulated for a final round of public consultation.
RCUK would in specific welcome further comments from learned societies. The
deadline for this round of consultation is 31 August 2005. Responses should
be sent to Drs. Astrid Wissenburg.

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