Open Access and Research Funders: A Report on Challenges, Opportunities, and Collaboration

[Froum Background] In mid­2015, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) proposed a meeting to catalyze a dialogue about opportunities for philanthropic organizations to expand their understanding and implementation of open access. This convening sought to bring together a diverse array of stakeholders — primarily US­based private research funders, but also including international governmental funders, universities, and others — to start a “community of practice”, or regular collaboration among key players in the push toward openness. RWJF’s interest in open access was driven in large measure by a desire to accelerate discovery and maximize research impact. Research funders and philanthropic organizations have increasingly expressed an interest in open access and open data as a means to translate science to action. RWJF partnered with SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) to develop the program and coordinate this meeting. SPARC is an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to create a more open system of scholarly communication. SPARC focuses on taking action in collaboration with stakeholders – including authors, publishers, funders, and libraries – to build on the unprecedented opportunities created by the networked digital environment to advance the conduct of scholarship.