What do research organizations think about open access publishing?

A new report by COAlition S presents findings and recommendations on open publishing (open access) based on a large consultation among 11,600 researchers from around the world. The report, “‘Towards Responsible Publishing’: Findings from a global stakeholder consultation,” was posted on 3 July on the Zenodo repository.

The report’s findings point to support for TRP (“towards responsible publishing”) principles on preprint, open peer review and open licensing. Furthermore, the survey findings underline the need for a global collaboration to change recognition and reward mechanisms.

This is particularly about cooperation between research funders, research organizations and universities. There is also an expressed desire to shift spending within the scholarly communication system towards more responsible publishing practices.

From November 2023 to May 2024, insights were gathered from researchers, research organizations and learned societies and academic associations through an online survey, focus groups and submitted feedback; for example, on how they view open publication practices, including publishing preprints and open peer review.

Other key stakeholders such as publishers and publishing infrastructure providers also provided input. Research Consulting and the Leiden University’s Center for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) conducted the survey. In the coming period, cOAlition S members will consult the report and come up with a response around the end of 2024.