Jean-François DechampOpen Access Policy Officer

European Commission, Directorate-General for Research & Innovation

Berlin 9 - The impact of open access in research and scholarshipHoward Hughes Medical Institute

Washington, DC, 9-10 November 2011

The worldwide policy environment

Open Access in Europe

Outline

• The European Union and access to scientific knowledge

• Open Access in Europe

• What next on the policy agenda?

The European Commission is a...

• Policy maker– Launches/accompanies policy debates– Invites Member States to take action– Proposes EU legislation (hard/soft)

• Other institutions: Parliament, Council...

• Funding agency– Research & Innovation (FP7)– Sets access and dissemination rules for

funded research

• (Infra)structure funder and capacity builder– E.g. pan-European Open Data Portal– Supports networking activities

Two Commissioners

• Vice-President Neelie Kroes

• Digital AgendaDigital single market

• Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn

• Research & InnovationEuropean Research Area (ERA) & Innovation Union

Digital Agenda

• Communication from the Commission ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’

• Speed up the roll-out of high-speed internet

• Reach the benefits of a digital single market

• Driving ICT innovation by exploiting the single market:– “[…] publicly funded research

should be widely disseminated through open access publication of scientific data and papers”;

– “[…] the Commission will appropriately extend current open access publication requirements […]”.

European Research Area

• ERA Framework in progress

• A Europe-wide space or ‘single market’ for research and innovation

• Incl. knowledge circulation:– Free movement of knowledge– Clear principles/rules regarding:

• The management of intellectual property resulting from publicly funded research

• Access to, and dissemination & preservation of publications and research data resulting from publicly funded research

Innovation Union

• Communication from the Commission ‘Innovation Union’

• Improve conditions & access for research and innovation

• Delivering the ERA:– “[...] The Commission will

propose a European Research Area framework [and] seek to ensure […] dissemination, transfer and use of research results, including through open access to publications and data from publicly funded research”

• Promoting openness:– “The Commission will promote

open access to the results of publicly funded research. It will aim to make open access to publications the general principle for projects funded by the EU research Framework Programmes […]”.

Why does the EC care about open access?

• Serve science and research– Avoid duplication of research, increase us & re-use of

information, speed up progress by improved access & dissemination

– Give equal access for all researchers and institutions

• Benefit innovation– Enabling knowledge transfer to industry, including SMEs

• Improve return on investment in R&D– Free access to results funded by tax payers’ money– Access for NGOs and citizens– Drive down costs for dissemination

Outline

• The European Union and access to scientific knowledge

• Open Access in Europe

• What next on the policy agenda?

1. The EC as a fundingbody (FP7)

• OA publishing costs are covered in FP7– New since the beginning of FP7 & for all projects– Limited to duration of project

• OA Pilot in FP7– 20% of total FP7 budget (2007-2013)– 7 areas (>850 projects to date)– Self-archiving & ‘Best effort to provide OA’ mandate– Embargo (6/12 months)– EU-funded portal OpenAIRE

• Support for technical implementation• Helpdesk & contact points• Technical infrastructure of digital repositories• Repository for homeless publications

– Survey (summer 2011)• 194 answers/811 projects

Self-archiving

• Difficult or very difficult to understand legal issues regarding copyright and licenses to publish– 60% of respondents with opinion

• Easy or very easy to find time or manpower to self-archive– Majority of respondents with opinion

Source: EC Survey (July-August 2011) awaiting publication

Gold open access

• >50% did not know the possibility

• Only 8 projects reported they used it

• For 72% of respondents, reimbursement of Gold OA is restricted by the fact that most publishing activities occur after the project end

Source: EC Survey (July-August 2011) awaiting publication

Open access to data?

How would you view an open access mandate to data in your research area?

5%15%

47%

20%

13%

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

No opinion

Source: EC Survey (July-August 2011) awaiting publication

Three quarters of respondents with opinion: agree or strongly agree

2. European countries

• Council Conclusions on ‘Scientific information in the digital age’ (2007)– Invitation to the Member States to:

• Reinforce national strategies and structures • Enhance co-ordination among Member States• Ensure long-term preservation of scientific information

• 2009 & 2011: two questionnaires– To take stock– To actively engage national experts in the process– To gain input for developing European level policies

Open access in Europe: main findings in 2011

• Many valuable initiatives taking place– ‘There is much greater awareness about the significance of

the issue, and a greater number of infrastructures to support dissemination of and access to scholarly material’

• Most activities led by non-governmental actors– Complex and dynamic process because provided and

supported by a number of independant organisations• A growing number of well developed activities, and

a few more national strategies– Policies on OA to publications still more advanced than on

policies to research data• Specific findings

– Agreements with publishers (growing trend)– Incentives/practical support to researchers– Many fast-growing initiatives that remain ‘islands’ at a

national level– Role for the EC/EU

Source: Report on questionnaire to ERAC (2010-2011) awaiting publication

Outline

• The European Union and access to scientific knowledge

• Open Access in Europe

• What next on the policy agenda?

Main surveys & consultations

1. 2011 Survey on OA in FP7

2. 2011 Questionnaire to Member States

3. Public consultation on scientific information in the digital age– Closed (1140 answers & ~20 position papers)– Analyse running

4. Public consultation on obstacles to ERA– deadline 30.11.2011 – section on knowledge circulation

No problem with OA?

There is NO problem with access to scientific publications

5% 8%3%

45%

39%agree strongly

agree

no opinion

disagree

disagree strongly

Individual researcher (39%), citizen (28%), university/research institute (8%),library (7%), publisher (6%), international organisation (4%) etc.

Source: 2011 EC Public consultation (July-September 2011) awaiting publication

OA when public funds?

Should publications resulting from publicly funded research be available OA?

76%

14%

7% 2%1%agree strongly

agree

disagree

disagree strongly

no opinion

Individual researcher (39%), citizen (28%), university/research institute (8%),library (7%), publisher (6%), international organisation (4%) etc.

Source: 2011 EC Public consultation (July-September 2011) awaiting publication

Many questions to answer

• How to get authors to deposit?

• What role for (what) publishers?

• What funding (and where)?

• How to measure OA?• How to reward an

author for sharing?• What about data (the

‘rising tide of data’)?• ...

Why are 2011-2012 important years?

• Multi-annual budget 2014-2020

• Post-2013 (FP7) research funding: Horizon 2020– Legislative proposal

foreseen• European Research

Area– Public consultation,

legislative proposal foreseen

• Communication and Recommendation on scientific information in the digital age

European Commission (1/3)

• 2012 Communication & Recommendation on scientific information– Communication: take stock of developments in the area &

outline next steps the Commission will take– Recommendation: outline what the EC expects from

Member States in terms of access/management of publications/data, in particular policies in relation to OA

– Public Hearing: Luxembourg, 30 May 2011– Analysis of surveys and consultations– Foreseen adoption: 1st quarter 2012

European Commission (2/3)

• Horizon 2020 (next FP)– Make open access to publications the general principle for

all projects– Open up possibilities for data– Put the open access mandate and associated policies into

practice

European Commission (3/3)

• Building an e-infrastructure for data– ”Our vision is a scientific e-infrastructure that supports

seamless access, use, re-use, and trust of data.”– “My goal is to raise awareness of the opportunities

represented by scientific data as well as setting out a plan for future developments.“

– Partner, pilot & build infrastructures

Conclusion

“The question is no longer ‘if’ we should have open access. The question is about ‘how’ we should develop it further and promote it.”

(N. Kroes, 02.12.2010)

Pointers

• The EC and open access– http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/open_access

• OpenAIRE– www.openaire.eu

• Twitter

• Email– jean-francois.dechamp@ec.europa.eu

@OpenAccessEC @NeelieKroesEU @ccbuhr