Open Access figures for 2020 published. A significant increase, but for 100% an even firmer approach is needed

Today the VSNU announced that the Dutch universities have published 73% of their academic articles Open Access in 2020. 

This is apparent from the Open Access Monitor, which was published yesterday and is published here on openaccess.nl. This is an increase of 11 percentage points compared to 2019 and this is the strongest increase since the start of the measurements in 2016. 

In order to realize the ambition of 100% Open Access, the stakes have to be even higher and even more paths have to be explored. The VSNU has sent a letter to the Minister of Education, Culture and Science about this. Feasibility studies show that a different strategy is needed to grow towards 100% Open Access at the national level. These include: 

• Work on all publication output, such as digital books.
• More sustainable contracts with all types of publishers (e.g., full OA) to keep the growth in publications affordable.
• Safeguarding public values ​​such as autonomy, transparency and quality requires more negotiating power with commercial parties. International cooperation can strengthen the position of universities.
• Investments in alternative publication platforms, such as the recently established Radboud University Press. 

The aim of Open Access is to ensure that publicly funded research benefits society as a whole. The corona crisis has made it extra clear how relevant it is that scientific knowledge is accessible to science and society (see, for example, this page specially set up for this purpose). 

Source: VSNU press release