Press release

Australian researcher puts a figure on benefits of Open Access to scientific and scholarly information.

Utrecht, 10 June 2009 – If every scientific and scholarly article were publicly available, it would save the Netherlands EUR 133 million a year. That figure is given by the Australian economist Prof. John Houghton in a study that SURFfoundation presented today to the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

At the moment, research universities and “universities of applied sciences” [hogescholen] pay millions of euros every year for access to scientific and scholarly publications. Businesses, smaller hogescholen, and other organisations often cannot afford the expensive licences needed for access. If the “Open Access” model were to be applied globally, there would be increased access to research results for both researchers and the public at large.

The study Costs and Benefits of Research Communication: The Dutch Situation compares three publication models. The greatest advantage is offered by the Open Access model, which means that the research institution or the party financing the research pays for publication and the article is then freely accessible. Adopting this model could lead to an annual saving of EUR 133 million. Even if the Netherlands were the only country to adopt this publication model and continued to pay for licences to access periodicals, there would still be a saving of EUR 37 million.

The report concludes that the advantages would not just be in the long term; in the transitional phase too, more open access to research results would have positive effects.

The director of SURFfoundation, Wim Liebrand, welcomed the results of Prof. Houghton’s study: “The study makes clear that Open Access offers a realistic alternative to the traditional publisher’s model based on licences. SURFfoundation has been working for some years now with publishers, authors, scientists, and scholars to develop publication models that are more cost-effective. Prof. Houghton’s report is a big boost for that work.”

The study was commissioned by SURFfoundation and forms part of a series of similar studies carried out in Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom. A survey will soon be published of the advantages that Open Access publication offers in those countries.

The full text of the study can be downloaded from the SURFfoundation website:

www.surffoundation.nl/en/publicaties/Pages/CostsandBenefitsofOpenAccessPublicationlTheDutchSituation.aspx

Title: Costs and Benefits of Research Communication: The Dutch Situation

Authors: John Houghton, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University, Melbourne, and Jos de Jonge & Marcia van Oploo, EIM and Research voor Beleid, Zoetermeer

About SURFfoundation
SURFfoundation enables breakthrough education and research. We initiate, guide and stimulate ICT innovation through sharing knowledge and partnerships. SURFfoundation is a partner in SURF, the collaborative organisation in which research universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutions aimed at innovative ICT facilities operate at a national and an international level.

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