Re-posted from Peter Suber's Open Access News, Thursday 24 March 2005.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2005_03_20_fosblogarchive.html#a111168615476714393
Will the RCUK support OA?
The UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee
http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/science_and_technology_committee.cfm
has issued its report on The Work of the Research Councils UK (dated
March 16 but not released online until March 23).
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/documents/scrutinyreport.pdf
Ever since the government rejected (November 2004) the committee's
OA recommendations (July 2004),
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmsctech/399/39903.htm
we've wondered whether the independent RCUK might adopt some of those
recommendations on its own authority.
http://www.stm-assoc.org/conferences/Goldstein.ppt
The new committee report is the first official sign that the RCUK
might do just that"
Excerpt (§28, p. 16): 'We have already reported on the lengths that
the Government went to in ensuring that there was only one response
to our Report on scientific publications in 2004. The Research
Councils, to whom many of our recommendations were directed, did
not all share the view of Government expressed in the Government
Response. They have since indicated that they are to set out their
own policy, which is likely to be based on principles placing a high
value on the public accessibility of publicly-funded research. Lord
Sainsbury told us that Research Councils were "totally independent"
in their capacity to make policy on this front". He added that, as
Government funds the Councils, "inevitably there is some influence in
terms of their performance and we have a responsibility to monitor
performance. They are independent. They take that independence
very seriously and, if we overstep the mark, they tell us to go
away". OST confirmed that Research Councils were free to implement
their policy, provided that it was funded from within their existing
allocations. OST is well aware that, given Research Councils'
existing commitments and the levels of funding required to pursue
any change of approach, the Research Councils would be unable to
proceed properly without Government support. In view of their
reliance on Government funding, there is an obvious and unhealthy
difficulty for the Research Councils in arguing strongly against
a reluctance by Government to support a policy which the Councils
believe will be of benefit to the research community.'
Re-posted from Peter Suber's Open Access News, Thursday 24 March 2005.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2005_03_20_fosblogarchive.html#a111168615476714393
Received on Thu Mar 24 2005 - 18:30:11 GMT