From: "Jim O'Donnell" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2018 17:58:14 -0700

From Library Journal's endlessly valuable Infodocket service, a most
interesting piece on how a strong supporter and substantial funder of
Open Access is confronting the facts of rising APC costs.

Jim O'Donnell
Arizona State University


From:  <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, Mar 5, 2018 at 1:57 PM
Subject: infoDOCKET: Wellcome is Going to Review its Open Access Policy

From a Wellcome Announcement:

 Given significant changes in publishing research article over the
past dozen or so years, we think the time is right to look again at
our OA policy. We want to ensure that it is fully optimised to help us
deliver our mission to improve human health.

[Clip]

The costs of delivering our OA policy are increasing. In part this is
a consequence of more Wellcome-attributed research being published OA
– compliance with our policy is over 75% – but it is also due to
increases in OA article processing charges (APCs).

In 2015-16 Wellcome spent £5.7 million delivering this policy, and we
know from COAF data, that 71% of APCs go to funding hybrid OA;
articles which are published in a subscription journal but can be made
OA on the payment of a fee.

Significantly, the COAF data also reveals that the average APC for a
hybrid OA article (£2,209) is 34% higher than the average APC for an
article in a fully OA journal (£1,644).

[Clip]

The overarching aim of our OA policy is to ensure that knowledge and
discoveries which arise from our funding are shared and used in manner
that maximises the benefit to health. This objective remains our north
star.

Beyond this however, we’ve defined three additional objectives.
Specifically, the OA policy should:

support a transition to a fully OA world, where no research is behind a
paywall
be as clear, unambiguous and straightforward as possible to comply with
ensure that the costs of delivering this policy are fair and proportionate.

[Clip]

We plan to carry out this review over the next six months. We will
announce its outcome before the end of 2018.