Carrots, Sticks and Open Access Publishing in Norway. I thank +Caroline…

"The Norwegian Research Council announced a new policy in relation to the financial support it provides for the publication of scholarly journals. Across the Nordic region, the research councils have offered national as well as cross-Nordic support for the publication of Social Science and Humanities journals that address local social and cultural issues. In 2013 the Norwegian Research Council provided financial support to 40 such titles <http://goo.gl/WpBrL3>. The rationale behind this measure is to ensure a continued and lively research interest in issues that are of national and regional interest while stimulating high quality scholarship. A few of these journals are published in English, but most are published in the Norwegian language. According to the announcement, a three-year transition period (2014-2016) is being introduced, after which, only open access journals will be eligible for support. An open access article is defined as one that is immediately available online, with no delay. The announcement does not address any particular licensing or copyright requirements....Presently, the research council will support open access journals that meet other eligibility criteria <http://goo.gl/v74Dwq> by providing up to 50% of the journal's operating costs. The current support program also allows for a one-time support for a transition to electronic publishing....The Research Council is in dialogue with various actors to discuss new financial models for these titles. Among other possible approaches being reviewed, is a consortium solution <http://goo.gl/xJtojE>, similar to SCOAP3, which would involve Norwegian research institutions making financial contributions to a national fund to support a defined set of journals...."