What is open access and why should we care?

"The issue of open access to research findings has been in the media for a number of reasons lately, some positive – the release of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) open access policy – and some tragic – the recent death of open internet advocate Aaron Swartz. But what is open access, why should we care about it and how is it going to be achieved in Australia? ... the world is shifting, and, of course, it’s all related to money. Funding bodies around the world are making open access to research results a condition of funding. And in Australia last week, as mentioned, one of our main funding bodies, the ARC, announced its open access policy along these lines.

This follows from the National Medical Health and Research Council (NHMRC) announcing their open access policy, which took effect on July 1 2012.  That means that the outcomes of all publicly funded research grants in Australia will be required to be made available for all to see.  This policy development is a result of understanding that there is great value to the national and international community in opening access to research, both in terms of research and commercial interests.  Estimates of the return on the Australian government investment through open access are: [1] $165 million per annum for government expenditure on research and development (R&D) [2] $111 million per annum for higher education expenditure on R&D, and [3] $12 million per annum for Australian Research Council funded R&D...  On the surface the ARC and NHMRC policies seem very similar.  But there are some differences between the two policies. The NHMRC policy relates only to journal articles resulting from funded research, where the ARC policy will apply to all publication outputs, including books and book chapters. The book industry has less well-developed mechanisms for open access copyright clearance.  The other major difference is the period of time before the public will see research available as a result of the policies..."