Horizon 2020: A €80 Billion Battlefield for Open Access | Science/AAAS | News
peter.suber's bookmarks 2013-08-21
Summary:
"As negotiations proceed to shape the next installment of Europe's gargantuan research funding programs, scientists, librarians, and publishers are eagerly awaiting the answer to a critical question: How strong will the new 7-year program, called Horizon 2020, be on Open Access (OA)?
The European Commission has said that making the research it funds widely available is one of its priorities; its proposal for the rules of participation and dissemination in Horizon 2020 says that the program will have "dedicated support to dissemination (including through open access to research results), communication and dialogue actions" and that "open access shall apply under the terms and conditions laid down in the grant agreement." Last week, the commission's director-general of research and innovation at the commission, Robert-Jan Smits, said in an interview in the Times Higher Education that open access, which typically involves making research papers freely available within months or a year of publication, "will be the norm" for research funded through Horizon 2020. "With our €80 billion we can make one hell of a difference," Smits said.
What that will mean exactly is still unclear, however, and the topic of much lobbying and speculation...."