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cOAlition S and ALPSP publish OA toolkit
Smaller independent publishers, libraries and consortia can now more easily enter into open access (OA) agreements, thanks to a set of new tools published by cOAlition S and the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP).
Commenting on the publication of the
toolkit, Colleen Campbell, coordinator of the OA2020 Initiative, said: ‘In order to foster a diverse, open scholarly publishing landscape, libraries and consortia need to broaden the scope of their negotiation strategies to embrace smaller independent publishers, but tailoring each agreement can take considerable time and resources. ‘Shared standards and greater
automation are required, and these tools give us a sound foundation from which to build.’ The toolkit addresses this need for
automation with the following materials: • A report, containing shared principles
for developing an OA agreement; a data template; six example licences ready to be used and adapted as necessary; and a list of the many librarians and publishers who have contributed to the development of the toolkit; and • A detailed workflow (download or
view) providing an overview of the entire process, from contract negotiation to achieving compliance with funder
policies and reporting to libraries. The toolkit was developed by
Information Power, working together with librarians, publishers and library consortia in the framework of the third phase of the Society Publishers Accelerating Open Access (SPA OPS 3.0) project, commissioned by cOAlition S and the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP).
Central European researchers ‘double global share since EU accession’
Central European researchers doubled their global share in terms of scientific output following accession to the European Union. That was one key finding in a
report from the Institute for Scientific Information, which outlines the research landscape of 11 countries across the region and identifies ‘rapidly maturing research networks’. Central Europe: A profile of the
region and its place in the European research network highlights the current research output of the countries that acceded to the European Union post- 2000 – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. These countries have shown strong, consistent growth in research output over the past 30 years, with an increase in international collaboration clearly having a positive impact. The report finds that Central Europe’s
researchers (co) authored around 4 per cent of global papers between 2016 and 2020, a doubling of world share since 1990. The greatest volume is in multidisciplinary materials science (5,545
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papers), capturing 4.4 per cent of world share. There was a greater share, but smaller volume is in mathematics (2,654 papers, 8.6 per cent) and particle physics (1,178 papers, 8.9 per cent of world share). Jonathan Adams, chief scientist of the Institute for Scientific Information, said: ‘Accession to the European Union has provided these countries with direct access to the EU Framework Programs of research funding, which has benefited their research output and ultimately their ability to accelerate innovation. ‘In practice, while this enabled rapid
growth in Central Europe, co-authorship with Western Europe only increased from 18 per cent in 1990-94 to 20 per cent of total output in 2015-19. That with Eastern Europe grew from just 4 per cent to 5 per cent.’ In Estonia and Latvia, two countries
with relatively small research output, international collaboration rates shot up to around 70 per cent. Conversely, Poland – considerably the largest by research output – has an international collaboration rate of around 40 per cent, which is no different to 20 years ago. Adams noted: ‘International
collaboration has a major effect on citation impact, pointing to a need for careful policy interpretation. Poland has a strong domestic research base, but less international collaboration. Some of the Baltic states, such as Estonia and Latvia, have high levels of collaboration. That pushes up their average citation impact, but may not reflect domestic research unless they build on those links.’ The physical sciences are a core
research focus for Central Europe, complementing a life science focus in Western Europe. This expertise provides them with opportunities – it is likely to be important for their involvement in globally relevant research, such as climate change and innovative energy technologies. As Central Europe’s universities have
grown both in number and stature, so the historical influence of national academies in the region appears to have decreased. This change in balance may reflect a cultural shift away from directed, mission- led research towards a more open and dynamic researcher-led environment, the report suggests.
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