Swiss Medical Weekly - Technical comment on: Hagner M. Open access, data capitalism and academic publishing

The opinion-based review by Michael Hagner is a thought-provoking read, which touches on many issues we are grappling with at the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Unfortunately, his article also grossly misrepresents the SNSF’s strategy for open access (OA), by describing it as “a coercive measure that robs researchers of the freedom to publish their research where they see fit.” In contrast to Hagner’s assertion, SNSF grantees dispose of several options to render their findings openly accessible to the research community and public at large. In addition to publishing in OA journals, i.e. the “gold route” to OA, with article processing fees covered by the SNSF, they may choose the “green route” and make their publications available in a repository or archive.