The Budapest Open Access Initiative, which first defined #OpenAccess.
Excited to share my new paper which explores why countries support equitable #OA models. Through interviews with OA leaders in the Global South, lessons are offered for the global transition to equitable OA.
Thanks to @openfuture for the support and partnership on this journey!
Please join us in welcoming our new board members: Alwaleed Alkhaja, @MelissaHagemann, Melissa Omino, and @colinsullivan 🎉
We would like to thank outgoing CC board member, Alek Tarkowski, who completed his five year term at the end of 2024. Alek is beginning a new chapter in joining the CC Advisory Council. 🙌
Get to know them: https://creativecommons.org/2025/03/06/creative-commons-announces-new-board-members/
L’initiative de Budapest BOAI en transition pour soutenir le développement de l’accès ouvert équitable.
With thanks to Jean-Claude Guédon & Vincent Larivière for the translation!
Transición de BOAI hacia una Organización que Apoya el Desarrollo de un Acceso Abierto Equitativo.
Today, on the 23rd anniversary of the release of the BOAI, which first defined #OpenAccess, I'm pleased to announce that the BOAI is transitioning into an org to support the development of equitable OA. For more, please see our blog post below, which is being translated into Spanish and Portuguese.
Today is the 23d birthday of the Budapest Open Access Initiative.
https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read/
BOAI is still active and issued its 20th anniversary recommendations in 2022.
https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/boai20/
Unlike previous BOAI statements, which made many recommendations, the 20th anniversary statement deliberately focused on just a small number of top priorities:
1. Adopting #OpenInfrastructure
2. Reforming #ResearchAssessment
3. Moving away from #APCs
4. Moving away from #ReadAndPublish agreements.
I'm proud of my association with the #BOAI, #BOAI10, and #BOAI20.
Happy #ValentinesDay to all who are working for #OpenAccess worldwide.
New study: "Our analysis demonstrates that research institutions seem to be ‘trapped’ in #transformative agreements [aka #ReadAndPublish agreements]. Instead of being a bridge towards a fully #OpenAccess world, academia is stuck in the #hybrid system."
https://www.cwts.nl/seminars/announcements?article=n-t2s284&title=trapped-in-transformative-agreements-a-multifaceted-analysis-of-1000-contracts
Reminder from the Budapest Open Access Initiative 20th anniversary statement, section 4.6: "Journals covered by [transformative or read-and-publish] agreements are…hybrid journals…Paying #APCs at hybrid journals [through these agreements] pays the journals to stay hybrid. It pays them to resist the conversion to full #OA that many institutions intend and predict when they enter the agreements."
https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/boai20/
Taking this a bit further:
From the U of Surrey: "The university continuously reviews all it commercial subscriptions for value for money, and…concluded that the Jisc-negotiated ‘Read and Publish’ deal with Elsevier was 'not sustainable in the current financial climate'."
https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-universities-2025-1-uk-university-drops-elsevier-deal/
From the Budapest Open Access Initiative 20th anniversary statement, section 4.3: Read-and-publish agreements "are unsustainable, by paying more than necessary and putting short-term growth ahead of long-term growth."
https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/boai20/
The U of Surrey just cancelled its #ReadAndPublish agreement with #Elsevier, less than one month after the U of Sheffield did the same.
https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-universities-2025-1-uk-university-drops-elsevier-deal/
@g3om4c thanks for highlighting the BOAI20 Recommendations! Over the last year, we've partnered with @sparc and @openfuture to organize a series of convenings to develop a shared advocacy agenda for knowledge sharing, given new challenges, such as privacy & surveillance. More info in our blog post:
https://sparcopen.org/news/2024/reclaiming-control-privacy-platforms-ai-governance-in-the-public-interest/.
Happy #OAWeek 2024!
Join the BOAI's Melissa Hagemann on Weds. to discuss the history of the #OpenAccess movement and strategies for the further development of equitable OA.
New study: "Research institutions seem to be 'trapped' in #TransformativeAgreements. Instead of being a bridge towards a fully #OpenAccess world, academia is stuck in the #hybrid system."
https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.20224
PS: This confirms the #BOAI20 diagnosis (March 2022): "Paying #APCs at hybrid journals pays the journals to stay hybrid. It pays them to resist the conversion to full OA that many institutions intend and predict when they enter the agreements."
https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/boai20/
Through her fellowship with @openfuture the BOAI's @MelissaHagemann has been exploring the emerging strategy of advocating for #OpenAccess in critical fields, such as COVID-19 and climate science. In this opinion piece, she highlights the pioneering work of the @OpenClimateCamp which developed a model for such an approach.
https://openfuture.eu/blog/advocating-for-open-access-to-research-in-critical-fields/
Inspiring keynote by the @OpenClimateCamp's Rebecca Ross, presesenting the campaign's Unbinding Knowledge project which is working to make previously published articles on climate science #OpenAccess. #OASPA2024. Encouraging response from librarians and publishers who expressed interest in collaborating on the project!
Nice quote from our BOAI20 Recs on APCs -
'APCs support the surplus revenues of the journals and not the quality of the underlying research that they publish. This latter point was highlighted in the 2022 Budapest Open Access Initiative 20th anniversary statement: "[APCs] don’t pay for improved quality but for the perception of improved quality…Career advancement can depend on that perception. But that is a problem to solve, not an immutable reality to accommodate.”'
@BOAI Thanks for sharing! Nice to see that "Public Knowledge Project’s open-source software #OpenJournalSystems (#OJS) is by far the most popular publishing software used in the surveyed sample (68.3%)." (on the summary of findings page; hashtags added)
Want to learn about Diamond OA journals in Africa? Check out EIFL's recently released landscape study which looks at 199 journals & includes 25 country reports. Critical information to advance equitable #OpenAccess.
https://www.eifl.net/news/landscape-study-no-fee-open-access-publishing-africa
Question: Since the WHO ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 last year, have any journals imposed paywalls for COVID-19 research? Some colleagues believe that a few journals have, but we haven't been able to determine which ones.
Many thanks!
Thanks for highlighting the BOAI and the BOAI20 Recommendations in your article. Wanted to note that the original BOAI, released in 2002, suggests two complementary strategies for achieving OA: the development of subject-based or institutional repositories & open access journals. We did not state that the gold (or APC) publication model was the most viable. In our BOAI20 Recs released in 2022, we specifically recommend moving away from APCs. Excited to see support for equitable OA!
