[Open-access] Is Open Access still relevant? | invitation to a discussion

[sumandro]

Is Open Access still relevant?

The last years have been both satisfying and challenging for the Open
Access community worldwide. On one hand, we have experienced numerous
'victories' of the OA agenda, such as the OA policy of Research Council UK,
the Finch Committee report, and the OA policy of World Bank. Various
agreeable arguments have been made forcefully to highlight the need for a
transition to OA models of publication -- from betterment of academic
practices, to economic growth to human development. On the other hand, the
OA agenda seems like only one, and not a major one at that, 'openness'
movement among a crowd of similarly prefixed movements. Further, the OA
agenda increasingly appears to be a rather limited, rigid, and old one.
Many other 'openness' movements such as Open Data and Open Educational
Resources, one may argue, are more effectively designed to better academic
practices, drive economic growth and influence human development.

In a powerful critique of the existing OA agenda, Peter Murray-Rust asks:
'Is "Open Access" the same sort of beast [as the modern ideology and
practice of "Open"]?' <http://blog.okfn.org/2012/10/26/is-open-access-open/>.
He goes on to list out the features of this 'modern ideology and practice
of "Open"': meritocracy, universality of participation, a willingness to
listen, openness of process, openness of results, and a mechanism to change
current practices (please see his blog post for clarification of these
features). Instead of having 'open' self-reflections about the changing
context and the need for revised strategies, as Eve Gray explains, the OA
agenda has often remained haunted by the Budapest Open Access Initiative
past and failed to interact with emerging allies such as OA scholarly
publications and grey literatures.

To ask the looming question bluntly, is there a need to envision a new,
more contemporary if nothing else, version of the OA agenda?

In the face of increasing acceptance of OA for journal-based research
publications by national and super-national bodies, what are the next
frontiers of the OA agenda? Does the journal-centric strategy of the
existing OA agenda needs revisiting? The last question is especially
pertinent in the context of developing countries, where policy-making is
often influenced by privately-funded research. Access to such documents
(and their underlying datasets) are significant in such cases for ensuring
government accountability, or simply to induce a broad, informed discussion
regarding making of national policies. At the same time, the diversity of
national policy frameworks across the world poses a critical challenge to
any global movement that aims to address global concerns while engaging
with local specificities and demands. Similarly for OA agenda, it is
crucial to discuss the possibility of a more participatory, flexible and
open process of setting strategic agendas at national and regional scales.
In this context, it might be useful to revisit the BOAI definition of OA,
and question whether this definition is sufficient for a global OA agenda,
and also whether the existing OA models (such as Gold and Green OA) are
sufficient for delivering the promise of that definition.

To return to the context of various 'openness' movements unfolding
worldwide, one may ask, if the OA agenda is now best pursued by dissolving
it within other 'openness' movements? Should we talk more of an alliance
between various 'openness' movements, or an expansion of some to
incorporate the others?

To take part in this fascinating debate which is hosted on the WSIS
Knowledge Communities, click the following link here [
http://www.wsis-community.org/pg/forum/topic/586392/is-open-access-only-for-rich-countries-participate-now-in-an-online-dialogue-on-open-access-and-the-developing-world/].
Please note that you will need to go to the last page of the discussion as
posts are ordered from first to last.

*Register here*

[
http://www.wsis-community.org/pg/forum/topic/586392/is-open-access-only-for-rich-countries-participate-now-in-an-online-dialogue-on-open-access-and-the-developing-world/
]

[
http://cvs2.uwc.ac.za/trac/chisimba/browser/branding/Chisimba_Newsletter/Chisimba_edition_3.pdf]
[
http://cvs2.uwc.ac.za/trac/chisimba/browser/branding/Chisimba_Newsletter/Chisimba_edition_3.pdf
]

[https://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Access-debates/356010021156418]

*Tweet using #developOA*

Partners

Institute for Development studies [http://www.ids.ac.uk/]

[http://www.ids.ac.uk/]

The Centre for Internet and Society [http://cis-india.org/]

The African Commons Project [http://www.africancommons.org/]

Resources [http://www.gray-area.co.za/]

Open Access and and Development- Journals

and Beyond [
http://www.africancommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Open-Access-and-Development-Journals-and-Beyond.pdf
]

[
http://www.africancommons.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Open-Access-and-Development-Journals-and-Beyond.pdf
]

[http://www.gray-area.co.za/]

Gray Area -A blog which focuses on Access to Knowledge and Open Access [
http://www.gray-area.co.za/]

UNESCO Human Rights declaration [
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/human-rights-based-approach/60th-anniversary-of-udhr/unesco-and-the-declaration/
]

WSIS Knowledge Communities

Open Access platform [
http://www.wsis-community.org/pg/forum/topic/586392/is-open-access-only-for-rich-countries-participate-now-in-an-online-dialogue-on-open-access-and-the-developing-world/
]

Openuct initiative - opening scholarship [http://openuct.uct.ac.za/]

Please send this email to someone you think may be interested.

Funded by DFID [http://www.dfid.gov.uk/], through the Mobilising Knowledge
for Development (MK4D) [
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/R4D/Project/60700/Default.aspx]programme in

the Institute for Development Studies [http://www.ids.ac.uk/] [
http://www.ids.ac.uk]

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sumandro
ajantriks.net
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