Image: PLoS [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
The UK government has confirmed it will commission a review of the economic impacts of its open-access policies.
The assessment will also review evidence on methods for monitoring the effects of such policies, and consider best-practice methods for reliably evaluating the costs and benefits of expanding access.
Responding to recommendations made in the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee’s report on implementing open access, the government said the review will be commissioned this year and completed by early 2014. Its aim is to provide a roadmap for analysing open-access policy in the UK.
The House of Lords’ report, published in February, described the lack of clarity in Research Councils UK’s open-access policy and guidance as “unacceptable”. It recommended that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills review RCUK’s consultation process "to ensure that lessons are learned".
However, in its response, published on 9 May, the government rejected this suggestion, saying that it will instead take advantage of ongoing review processes, such as the triennial review of the research councils, to look into the issue.
The government says it is “confident” that RCUK will learn to engage better with other parties, pointing to meetings that RCUK has held with universities and publishers since autumn as an example.
Nonetheless, the triennial review will look at how the structure of the research councils affects their ability to jointly “consult on, communicate and effectively implement policy”, and the communications review will consider how best to use resources for engaging stakeholders when implementing policy changes.
In its response, RCUK did not accept that it had “acted unilaterally or had inadequate engagement with stakeholders during the policy revision”. It also said that “considerable lobbying” had taken place and made it difficult to ensure that its policy messages were heard accurately.