Impact of Social Sciences – Journal flipping or a public open access infrastructure? What kind of open access future do we want?

"Open access (OA) is advocated by science funders, policymakers and researchers alike. It will most likely be the default way of publishing in the not-so-distant future. Nonetheless, the dominant approach to achieve OA at the moment – journal flipping – could have adverse long-term effects for science. To try to stir debate, we here present two dichotomic scenarios for open access in 20 years’ time. Our approach is collaborative and open – we recognise that our position is not uncontroversial and welcome engagement from those who would advocate otherwise. What is missing in the scenarios presented below? Which scenario would be better? Which is most realistic?"