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Open access, scientific and economic stakes Perspectives from an EU institution and a funding body. Pēteris Zilgalvis Head of Unit Governance & Ethics Science, Economy and Society Directorate Research Directorate-General, European Commission Berlin 7 Open Access Conference
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Open access, scientific and economic stakesPerspectives from an EU institution and a funding body Pēteris Zilgalvis Head of Unit Governance & Ethics Science, Economy and Society Directorate Research Directorate-General, European Commission Berlin7 Open Access Conference Paris, 2 December 2009
Outline • European Commission approach and policy phases • Policy initiatives • Conclusions and next steps
Outline • European Commission approach and policy phases • Policy initiatives • Conclusions and next steps
1. Background • The internet has led to unprecedented possibilities which can be better exploited to promote wider access to research results • Importance of access, dissemination and preservation for research: • all research builds on former work • wide dissemination avoids duplication • 5th Freedom: free movement of knowledge • Fair remuneration for scientific publishers for the added value they bring to the scientific publication process • Public funding bodies need to derive maximum return/impact from their investment on tax payers’ money • International developments: many existing policies, e.g. Wellcome Trust, NIH, Harvard University etc. • EC has legal foundation to improve access to research results e.g. Lisbon Treaty
2. Legal foundations • European Community Treaty (Treaty on the functioning of the EU / Lisbon Treaty) • Strengthening scientific & technological bases of Community industry • Encouraging Community to become more competitive • Responsible for dissemination and optimisation of research results • Lisbon Treaty: achieving a European Research Area (ERA) in which researchers, scientific knowledge and technology circulate freely • Implementing the Treaty: the Lisbon Agenda (EU to become ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world’) • European Research Area (2000): ‘internal market’ for research – free movement of researchers, technology and knowledge • I2010 (2005): European Information Society for growth and employment – single information space, ICT innovation
3. Roles of the EC • Policy-making body: • Launch of policy debate at the European level • Encourage Member States to take co-ordinated action • Lisbon Treaty can give research a boost • Research funding body: • Set access and dissemination rules for EC-funded research (Framework Programmes) • Capacity-building / supporting body: • Fund digital infrastructures and relevant research and networking activities
4. Consultation • 2006 – ‘Study on the economic and technical evolution of the scientific publication markets in Europe’ (public consultation) • 2007 (15-16 Feb.) – Stakeholder conference ‘Scientific publishing in the ERA’; petition & Brussels declaration • 2007 (4 Apr.) – Green Paper on the future of the ERA; knowledge sharing axis included section on open access (public questionnaire)
5. Decision making • 2007 (14 Feb.) – Communication COM(2007)56 on ‘Scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation’ • 2007 (23 Nov.) – Council Conclusions on ‘Scientific information in the digital age’ • 2008 (13-14 Mar.) – European Council Conclusions mention open access as a way of achieving ‘5th freedom’ (free movement of knowledge) within European knowledge economy • 2008 (10 Apr.) – Commission Recommendations on the management of IP in knowledge transfer activities (COM(2008)1329)
6. Implementation • 2007 (Dec.) – European Research Council’s Scientific Council adopts Guidelines for open access • 2007: cost for ‘Gold’ open access: eligible cost in FP7 • 2008 (Aug.): launch of Open Access Pilot in FP7 • 2009: follow-up of Member State actions as laid out in the Council conclusions
Outline • European Commission approach and policy phases • Policy initiatives • Conclusions and next steps
1. FP7 • Current (7th) Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development: FP7 • Over €50 billion in seven years (2007-2013) • In its role as funding body, the European Commission can set rules for access to research results financed through its Framework Programmes • Goal of maximising socio-economic impact of R&D investment • Projects e.g. SOAP: Study of Open Access Publishing • Publishers, funding agencies and a broad spectrum of research disciplines • Aims to study the new open access business models • Survey researchers on their experiences with open access publishing & scenarios for the future
2. ERC • European Research Council (ERC): ‘Ideas’ programme in FP7 • December 2007 Guidelines on open access to ERC funded research results: • Peer reviewed scientific articles: deposited on publication to an appropriate repository and available open access no later than 6 months after publication • Research data: consider it essential that underlying data be deposited to relevant databases as soon as possible, preferably immediately and not later than 6 months after publication • Preference for ‘green’ open access although ‘gold’ open access is also possible • Guidelines apply during and after project duration • Planned modification of grant agreement to ensure that open access becomes a legal requirement (2009/2010)
3. ‘Gold’ open access in FP7 • New in FP7 • Publication costs (including gold/author pays open access fees) are eligible for reimbursement • Limited to duration of project • Uptake to be monitored during and at the end of FP7 • Legal reference: II.16.4 of FP7 Model Grant Agreement permits 100% reimbursement for ‘other activities’ including open access publication
4. Open Access Pilot in FP7 • In ~160 grant agreements since Aug ‘08; covers ca. 20% of FP7 budget • Applies to seven areas of FP7: • 6 month embargo: “Health”, “Energy”, “Environment”, “Information & Communication Technology” (Cognitive systems/robotics), “Research infrastructures” (e-infrastructures) • 12 month embargo: “Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities” and “Science in Society” • Legal foundation: Special Clause 39, Grant Agreement: • deposit of an electronic copy (published version or final manuscript) in an institutional or subject-based repository at moment of publication. • best efforts to ensure that this electronic copy becomes available “open access” (freely and electronically available to anyone): • immediately if the publication is published "open access", or • within 6 or 12 months of publication, depending on area
5. Activities at Member State level • Council conclusions were adopted by Competitiveness Council 23-24 Nov. 2007 • Inviting the EU Member States (MS) to reinforce national strategies & structures, enhance coordination & ensure long-term preservation of scientific information • EC launched a questionnaire (Dec. 2008) to the MS via CREST (Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee) • The questionnaire follows up the invitations of Council • Objective: to take stock of the present situation (incl. implementation of the Council conclusions), to encourage and support development & coordination of national activities, and gain input for the future development of a policy on access and dissemination
5. Activities at Member State level (cont.) • Good feedback: 27 Member States responded • Many valuable initiatives are taking place in the Member States which is extremely encouraging and signals the importance of these issues for the future of R&D • Most activities are led by non-governmental actors (e.g. funding bodies, universities); very few countries have adopted national strategies
5. Activities at Member State level (end) • Respondents generally favourable regarding current EC activities in this area • Suggested activities for the future: • Encouraging & stimulating co-ordination of MS policies (monitoring best practices, MS networks, specific recommendations with timeframe) • Supporting development of a pan-European e-Infrastructure (common standards & formats, quality control mechanisms) • Developing OA principles for EU-funded research (experimenting with OA; business models) • It is now time to capitalise on these initiatives and ensure the development of coherent national strategies across Europe
6. OA session at ERA Conference (Oct. 2009) • ‘Open access and preservation: how can knowledge sharing be improved in ERA?’ • Conclusions & recommendations to the EC and all other stakeholders: • Need to provide research outputs (articles, books, dataset etc.) in an openly accessible and easily re-usable way • Need to provide an integrated system of science communication – an ecosystem of infrastructures – that ensures the optimal functioning of the system • Need to reinforce the (weak) link between basic research sector and innovative industries • http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2009/era2009
Outline • European Commission approach and policy phases • Policy initiatives • Conclusions and next steps
1. Steady progress over the past years • Consultation and decision-making phases completed • Implementation phase well under way • Access issues are now firmly on the European policy agenda • A lot of work ahead
2. The challenges ahead • European policy: • Mobilisation of Member States • Support for co-ordinated initiatives • Research funding body policy: • Monitor of ongoing initiatives • Define an access and dissemination policy after FP7 (from 2014) • Capacity-building activities: • continue support for the development of sustainable e-infrastructure in all Member States • ERA: • move towards the creation of ‘fifth freedom’, free movement of knowledge
Thank you for your attention! • Contact: peteris.zilgalvis@ec.europa.eu • Further information: • Access to scientific information: http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/scientific_information • Open access pilot in FP7: http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/open_access • Questions about the open access pilot: rtd-open-access@ec.europa.eu • Other questions/join mailing list on access to scientific information: rtd-scientific-publication@ec.europa.eu