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Pēteris Zilgalvis Head of Unit Governance & Ethics Science, Economy and Society Directorate

Explore the European Commission's approach to open access policy, legal foundations, roles, consultation processes, decision-making steps, implementation measures, and initiatives within FP7 funding. Learn about the economic and technical evolution of scientific publication markets in Europe and the importance of wider access to research results.

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Pēteris Zilgalvis Head of Unit Governance & Ethics Science, Economy and Society Directorate

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  1. Open access, scientific and economic stakesPerspectives from an EU institution and a funding body Pēteris Zilgalvis Head of Unit Governance & Ethics Science, Economy and Society Directorate Research Directorate-General, European Commission Berlin7 Open Access Conference Paris, 2 December 2009

  2. Outline • European Commission approach and policy phases • Policy initiatives • Conclusions and next steps

  3. Outline • European Commission approach and policy phases • Policy initiatives • Conclusions and next steps

  4. 1. Background • The internet has led to unprecedented possibilities which can be better exploited to promote wider access to research results • Importance of access, dissemination and preservation for research: • all research builds on former work • wide dissemination avoids duplication • 5th Freedom: free movement of knowledge • Fair remuneration for scientific publishers for the added value they bring to the scientific publication process • Public funding bodies need to derive maximum return/impact from their investment on tax payers’ money • International developments: many existing policies, e.g. Wellcome Trust, NIH, Harvard University etc. • EC has legal foundation to improve access to research results e.g. Lisbon Treaty

  5. 2. Legal foundations • European Community Treaty (Treaty on the functioning of the EU / Lisbon Treaty) • Strengthening scientific & technological bases of Community industry • Encouraging Community to become more competitive • Responsible for dissemination and optimisation of research results • Lisbon Treaty: achieving a European Research Area (ERA) in which researchers, scientific knowledge and technology circulate freely • Implementing the Treaty: the Lisbon Agenda (EU to become ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world’) • European Research Area (2000): ‘internal market’ for research – free movement of researchers, technology and knowledge • I2010 (2005): European Information Society for growth and employment – single information space, ICT innovation

  6. 3. Roles of the EC • Policy-making body: • Launch of policy debate at the European level • Encourage Member States to take co-ordinated action • Lisbon Treaty can give research a boost • Research funding body: • Set access and dissemination rules for EC-funded research (Framework Programmes) • Capacity-building / supporting body: • Fund digital infrastructures and relevant research and networking activities

  7. 4. Consultation • 2006 – ‘Study on the economic and technical evolution of the scientific publication markets in Europe’ (public consultation) • 2007 (15-16 Feb.) – Stakeholder conference ‘Scientific publishing in the ERA’; petition & Brussels declaration • 2007 (4 Apr.) – Green Paper on the future of the ERA; knowledge sharing axis included section on open access (public questionnaire)

  8. 5. Decision making • 2007 (14 Feb.) – Communication COM(2007)56 on ‘Scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation’ • 2007 (23 Nov.) – Council Conclusions on ‘Scientific information in the digital age’ • 2008 (13-14 Mar.) – European Council Conclusions mention open access as a way of achieving ‘5th freedom’ (free movement of knowledge) within European knowledge economy • 2008 (10 Apr.) – Commission Recommendations on the management of IP in knowledge transfer activities (COM(2008)1329)

  9. 6. Implementation • 2007 (Dec.) – European Research Council’s Scientific Council adopts Guidelines for open access • 2007: cost for ‘Gold’ open access: eligible cost in FP7 • 2008 (Aug.): launch of Open Access Pilot in FP7 • 2009: follow-up of Member State actions as laid out in the Council conclusions

  10. Outline • European Commission approach and policy phases • Policy initiatives • Conclusions and next steps

  11. 1. FP7 • Current (7th) Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development: FP7 • Over €50 billion in seven years (2007-2013) • In its role as funding body, the European Commission can set rules for access to research results financed through its Framework Programmes • Goal of maximising socio-economic impact of R&D investment • Projects e.g. SOAP: Study of Open Access Publishing • Publishers, funding agencies and a broad spectrum of research disciplines • Aims to study the new open access business models • Survey researchers on their experiences with open access publishing & scenarios for the future

  12. 2. ERC • European Research Council (ERC): ‘Ideas’ programme in FP7 • December 2007 Guidelines on open access to ERC funded research results: • Peer reviewed scientific articles: deposited on publication to an appropriate repository and available open access no later than 6 months after publication • Research data: consider it essential that underlying data be deposited to relevant databases as soon as possible, preferably immediately and not later than 6 months after publication • Preference for ‘green’ open access although ‘gold’ open access is also possible • Guidelines apply during and after project duration • Planned modification of grant agreement to ensure that open access becomes a legal requirement (2009/2010)

  13. 3. ‘Gold’ open access in FP7 • New in FP7 • Publication costs (including gold/author pays open access fees) are eligible for reimbursement • Limited to duration of project • Uptake to be monitored during and at the end of FP7 • Legal reference: II.16.4 of FP7 Model Grant Agreement permits 100% reimbursement for ‘other activities’ including open access publication

  14. 4. Open Access Pilot in FP7 • In ~160 grant agreements since Aug ‘08; covers ca. 20% of FP7 budget • Applies to seven areas of FP7: • 6 month embargo: “Health”, “Energy”, “Environment”, “Information & Communication Technology” (Cognitive systems/robotics), “Research infrastructures” (e-infrastructures) • 12 month embargo: “Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities” and “Science in Society” • Legal foundation: Special Clause 39, Grant Agreement: • deposit of an electronic copy (published version or final manuscript) in an institutional or subject-based repository at moment of publication. • best efforts to ensure that this electronic copy becomes available “open access” (freely and electronically available to anyone): • immediately if the publication is published "open access", or • within 6 or 12 months of publication, depending on area

  15. 5. Activities at Member State level • Council conclusions were adopted by Competitiveness Council 23-24 Nov. 2007 • Inviting the EU Member States (MS) to reinforce national strategies & structures, enhance coordination & ensure long-term preservation of scientific information • EC launched a questionnaire (Dec. 2008) to the MS via CREST (Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee) • The questionnaire follows up the invitations of Council • Objective: to take stock of the present situation (incl. implementation of the Council conclusions), to encourage and support development & coordination of national activities, and gain input for the future development of a policy on access and dissemination

  16. 5. Activities at Member State level (cont.) • Good feedback: 27 Member States responded • Many valuable initiatives are taking place in the Member States which is extremely encouraging and signals the importance of these issues for the future of R&D • Most activities are led by non-governmental actors (e.g. funding bodies, universities); very few countries have adopted national strategies

  17. 5. Activities at Member State level (end) • Respondents generally favourable regarding current EC activities in this area • Suggested activities for the future: • Encouraging & stimulating co-ordination of MS policies (monitoring best practices, MS networks, specific recommendations with timeframe) • Supporting development of a pan-European e-Infrastructure (common standards & formats, quality control mechanisms) • Developing OA principles for EU-funded research (experimenting with OA; business models) • It is now time to capitalise on these initiatives and ensure the development of coherent national strategies across Europe

  18. 6. OA session at ERA Conference (Oct. 2009) • ‘Open access and preservation: how can knowledge sharing be improved in ERA?’ • Conclusions & recommendations to the EC and all other stakeholders: • Need to provide research outputs (articles, books, dataset etc.) in an openly accessible and easily re-usable way • Need to provide an integrated system of science communication – an ecosystem of infrastructures – that ensures the optimal functioning of the system • Need to reinforce the (weak) link between basic research sector and innovative industries • http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2009/era2009

  19. Outline • European Commission approach and policy phases • Policy initiatives • Conclusions and next steps

  20. 1. Steady progress over the past years • Consultation and decision-making phases completed • Implementation phase well under way • Access issues are now firmly on the European policy agenda • A lot of work ahead

  21. 2. The challenges ahead • European policy: • Mobilisation of Member States • Support for co-ordinated initiatives • Research funding body policy: • Monitor of ongoing initiatives • Define an access and dissemination policy after FP7 (from 2014) • Capacity-building activities: • continue support for the development of sustainable e-infrastructure in all Member States • ERA: • move towards the creation of ‘fifth freedom’, free movement of knowledge

  22. Thank you for your attention! • Contact: peteris.zilgalvis@ec.europa.eu • Further information: • Access to scientific information: http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/scientific_information • Open access pilot in FP7: http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/open_access • Questions about the open access pilot: rtd-open-access@ec.europa.eu • Other questions/join mailing list on access to scientific information: rtd-scientific-publication@ec.europa.eu

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