The White House mandate requires federally-funded research to be made immediately and freely available to the public without embargo by the end of 2025. This has generated concerns about the high cost of open-access publishing. A recent paper published in the Journal of Science Policy and Government offers recommendations for colleges, publishers, and funding agencies interested in supporting open access moving forward. The paper suggests that colleges pay for researchers’ open-access article processing charges by canceling subscriptions with major publishers. Publishers should increase transparency about journal operating costs and how article processing charges are used. Funding agencies could increase grant budgets to offset the higher costs of open-access publishing or increase their scrutiny of publication costs. The authors of the paper believe that the new policy will benefit society by providing access to research that could save lives, provide critical tools for policymakers, and drive more equitable outcomes.
New Recommendations for Encouraging Open-Access Publishing
In 2022, the White House mandated that federally-funded research must be freely available to the public without embargo, replacing the previous policy that allowed a 12-month embargo. While some researchers celebrated this decision, others were concerned about the high costs associated with open-access publishing.
To address these concerns, the Journal of Science Policy and Government published a paper with recommendations for colleges, publishers, and funding agencies interested in supporting open access moving forward.
The paper suggests that colleges cancel subscriptions with major publishers in favor of paying for researchers’ open-access article processing charges. Additionally, colleges might reevaluate the weight given to journal impact factor in the tenure and promotion review process, as there is no evidence that it correlates with research quality. By doing so, researchers would have more incentives to publish in newer, open-access journals over established, expensive, higher-impact journals.
Publishers are advised to increase transparency about journal operating costs and how article processing charges are utilized. They could also offer a wider range of open-access publishing options.
Funding agencies might increase grant budgets to offset the expected higher costs of open-access publishing. Although such a measure is expensive, it could be temporary. Furthermore, funders could increase their scrutiny of publication costs in researchers’ proposed budgets and endorse non-profit open-access journals and platforms with minimal or no fees for researchers.
The new policy presents challenges for colleges, publishers, and funding agencies, but the authors of the paper expect that it will benefit society.
Widely Available Research Can Benefit Society
Alondra Nelson, the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, stated that making research widely available to the public and other researchers can save lives, provide policymakers with critical tools, and drive more equitable outcomes. The White House mandate requires that federally-funded research must be made immediately and freely available to the public without embargo by the end of 2025. According to Nelson, the American people fund billions of dollars in cutting-edge research annually, and there should be no delay or barrier between them and the returns on their investment.
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