March Open Perspective: Open Access – Year of Open

"We engage and invest in research in order to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, encourage innovation, enrich education, and stimulate the economy — to improve the public good. Communication of the results of research is an essential component of the research process; research can only advance by sharing the results, and the value of an investment in research is only maximized through wide use of its results.

The more people can access and build upon the latest research, the more valuable that research becomes and the more likely people will be able to benefit from it.

Fifteen years ago this month, the Budapest Open Access Initiative first defined and developed recommendations for open access. The recommendations included the development of policies in institutions, in funding agencies, in licensing, and in the development of repositories."