Beyond Open Access

Beyond Open Access

Five prerequisites for a sustainable knowledge commons

Open access is about the democratizaton of knowledge. However, as open access becomes widely adopted, there is a risk that we will accentuate the inequalities and unsustainability of scholarly publishing, through widespread implementation of pay to publish business models.

At COAR, we recognize the need to go beyond open access, to create an open and fair system for sharing research outcomes. Our vision is a sustainable knowledge commons. A global commons that reflects the needs of different communities and regions, allows all researchers to fully participate, while also fostering positive change and innovation in scholarly communications.

Five prerequisites for a sustainable knowledge commons

Improve the processes used to evaluate research contributions to include a wider range of qualitative and quantitative metrics and indicators

Strengthen local institution-based services that preserve and provide access to diverse and valuable research products

Connect local services to national, regional and global networks through the adoption of interoperable standards and practices

Begin to redistribute funds towards services that add value to the networks, such as peer review

Adopt the principles and governance that will ensure the commons reflects the needs of the global research community

COAR: Building a global knowledge commons

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