Very interesting, but is it based in part on a false premise?

Grants for research projects do not normally provide support for the
time and effort required, after the completion of the investigation and
the project report, to take the results of research and re-write them in
a more readily assimilated fashion for publication in a journal article.


In Britain, this has been exacerbated by the withdrawal of research
support funding from all those University Departments which are not able
to demonstrate overall excellence at international level.  This possibly
disregards the existence within other Departments of individuals of
international standing, and certainly ignores Departments that make a
sound research contribution at a level of excellence that is recognised
nationally.  It thus means that the individuals carrying out some
publicly funded research are in institutions where there is (little
support during the research project,) no continuing support after the
project finishes, and no time allowed for writing papers for journals as
part of their workload.  (It also, incidentally, deprives their
institutions' libraries of the funds that might be used to purchase
journals to support further research.)  

Because the effort of writing papers is often being undertaken by
individuals in their own time, is it then the case that, in effect, the
funding agencies (and government) have 'purchased' only limited rights
to control the publication of papers derived from research that they may
have funded?  If so, how are the individuals or institutions to be
compensated for the work in preparing papers for open access archives?
Or are these archives to hold only less easily digested project reports?



-----Original Message-----
From: Chartered Library and Information Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Prof Bruce Royan
Sent: 04 February 2004 16:39
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: OECD Committee for Scientific & Technological Policy:
Declaration on Access to Research Data from Public Funding


Part of the Final Communique of the Meeting of the OECD Ministerial
Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (29-30 January 2004)
is the following declaration, which underlines points I suggested should
be in CILIP's submission to Select Committee Inquiry into Scientific
Publication

*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%**%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*
Prof B Royan     www.concurrentcomputing.co.uk
Concurrent Computing Ltd, 41 Greenhill Gardens
Edinburgh, EH10 4BL             United Kingdom
+44 1314 4731 51              +44 77 1374 4731
*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%**%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*

-----Original Message-----

DECLARATION ON ACCESS TO RESEARCH DATA FROM PUBLIC FUNDING adopted on 30
January 2004 in Paris

The governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Russian
Federation, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States

o Recognising that an optimum international exchange of data,
information and knowledge contributes decisively to the advancement of
scientific research and innovation;

o Recognising that open access to, and unrestricted use of, data
promotes scientific progress and facilitates the training of
researchers;

o Recognising that open access will maximise the value derived from
public investments in data collection efforts;

o Recognising that the substantial increase in computing capacity
enables vast quantities of digital research data from public funding to
be put to use for multiple research purposes by many research institutes
of the global science system, thereby substantially increasing the scope
and scale of research;

o Recognising the substantial benefits that science, the economy and
society at large could gain from the opportunities that expanded use of
digital data resources have to offer, and recognising the risk that
undue restrictions on access to and use of research data from public
funding could diminish the quality and efficiency of scientific research
and innovation;

o Recognising that optimum availability of research data from public
funding for developing countries will enhance their participation in the
global science system, thereby contributing to their social and economic
development;

o Recognising that the disclosure of research data from public funding
may be constrained by domestic law on national security, the protection
of privacy of citizens and the protection of intellectual property
rights and trade secrets that may require additional safeguards;

o Recognising that on some of the aspects of the accessibility of
research data from public funding, additional measures have been taken
or will be introduced in OECD countries and that disparities in national
regulations could hamper the optimum use of publicly funded data on the
national and international scales;

o Considering the beneficial impact of the establishment of OECD
Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of
Personal Data (1980, 1985 and 1998) and the OECD Guidelines for the
Security of Information Systems and Networks (1992, 1997 and 2002) on
international policies for access to digital data;

DECLARE THEIR COMMITMENT TO:

* Work towards the establishment of access regimes for digital research
data from public funding in accordance with the following objectives and
principles:

o Openness: balancing the interests of open access to data to increase
the quality and efficiency of research and innovation with the need for
restriction of access in some instances to protect social, scientific
and economic interests.

o Transparency: making information on data-producing organisations,
documentation on the data they produce and specifications of conditions
attached to the use of these data, available and accessible
internationally.

o Legal conformity: paying due attention, in the design of access
regimes for digital research data, to national legal requirements
concerning national security, privacy and trade secrets.

o Formal responsibility: promoting explicit, formal institutional rules
on the responsibilities of the various parties involved in data-related
activities pertaining to authorship, producer credits, ownership, usage
restrictions, financial arrangements, ethical rules, licensing terms,
and liability.

o Professionalism: building institutional rules for the management of
digital research data based on the relevant professional standards and
values embodied in the codes of conduct of the scientific communities
involved.

o Protection of intellectual property: describing ways to obtain open
access under the different legal regimes of copyright or other
intellectual property law applicable to databases as well as trade
secrets.

o Interoperability: paying due attention to the relevant international
standard requirements for use in multiple ways, in co-operation with
other international organisations.

o Quality and security: describing good practices for methods,
techniques and instruments employed in the collection, dissemination and
accessible archiving of data to enable quality control by peer review
and other means of safeguarding authenticity, originality, integrity,
security and establishing liability.

o Efficiency: promoting further cost effectiveness within the global
science system by describing good practices in data management and
specialised support services.

o Accountability: evaluating the performance of data access regimes to
maximise the support for open access among the scientific community and
society at large.

* Seek transparency in regulations and policies related to information,
computer and communications services affecting international flows of
data for research, and reducing unnecessary barriers to the
international exchange of these data;

* Take the necessary steps to strengthen existing instruments and -
where appropriate - create within the framework of international and
national law, new mechanisms and practices supporting international
collaboration in access to digital research data;

* Support OECD initiatives to promote the development and harmonisation
of approaches by governments adhering to this Declaration aimed at
maximising the accessibility of digital research data;

* Consider the possible implications for other countries, including
developing countries and economies in transition, when dealing with
issues of access to digital research data.

INVITE THE OECD:

To develop a set of OECD guidelines based on commonly agreed principles
to facilitate optimal cost-effective access to digital research data
from public funding, to be endorsed by the OECD Council at a later
stage.

***************************

The Full communique
<http://www.oecd.org/document/0,2340,en_2649_34487_25998799_1_1_1_1,00.h
tml>
is available from the OECD's website www.oecd.org.

****************************