Open Access and Development: journals and beyond

Use the link to access the full text report from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).  An excerpt from the Executive Summary reads as follows: "This following report sets out to explore what Open Access means, how it has evolved as a philosophical and practical tool for scholarly communication, and how these publishing modes are currently being used to redress some of the imbalances, which currently exist within the traditional models of scholarly communication. It then goes on to examine the current and potential uses of open access in the context of the developing world; questions if, within these contexts, a different open access-based approach is required, and makes recommendations for this ... The costs of subscriptions to the journals published by traditional publishers are prohibitively high, putting them well above the means of many institutions, particularly those in the developing world. At the same time, the citation models (which have evolved in conjunction with the market-driven growth in scholarly publishing) force researchers to fight for page-space in handful of core journals – leading to the development of a culture of 'publish or perish'. These journals are not only expensive to access, but they have a narrow mandate, and tend to publish work only from a small selection of global research. This has led to a situation where research from the developing world has been overlooked, creating a 'scientific silence' which misrepresents the reality – an invisible college of networked researchers producing high-level research that impacts directly on improving people’s lives and contributes to national development. Open access models not only remove the price barrier, thus making knowledge (which is often produced using public funding) available freely, but it also allows researchers from this silent college to upload, share, collaborate and build upon their research more freely. Global funders and governments alike have begun to recognise the value of building research infrastructures using open access models, which allow for the freer flow of information – this has been recognised as a global public good. At policy levels, they have begun to build open access models into their funding and policy-building practices. However, some of the context-specific requirements of the developing world are more complex, and require that governments and funders consider the unique needs of each country when creating these policy frameworks.  Unless that happens, the decisions and value-evaluations made by the developed global North will continue to be imposed upon the developing world in an unequal and unsustainable way."