21.7.2012   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 194/39

(1)

The Communication from the Commission Europe 2020 (1) puts forward the development of an economy based on knowledge and innovation as a priority.

(2)

The targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy are given in more detail in particular in the Flagship Initiatives ‘Digital Agenda for Europe’ (2) and ‘Innovation Union’ (3). Among the actions to be taken under the ‘Digital Agenda’, publicly funded research should be widely disseminated through open access publication of scientific data and papers. The ‘Innovation Union’ initiative calls for a European Research Area (ERA) framework to be set up to help remove obstacles to mobility and cross-border cooperation. It states that open access to publications and data from publicly funded research should be promoted and access to publications made the general principle for projects funded by the EU research Framework Programmes.

(3)

On 14 February 2007, the Commission adopted a Communication on scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation (4), accompanied by a staff working paper. This provided an overview of the state of play in Europe regarding scientific publishing and the preservation of research results, examining relevant organisational, legal, technical and financial issues.

(4)

The Communication was followed in November 2007 by Council Conclusions on scientific information in the digital age: access, dissemination and preservation. The Conclusions invited the Commission to experiment with open access to scientific publications resulting from projects funded by EU research framework programmes and included a set of actions to be undertaken by the Member States. There have been advances in some of the areas dealt with in the Conclusions, but not all targets have been met and progress has been uneven among Member States. EU action is needed to make the most of Europe’s research potential.

(5)

Open access policies aim to provide readers with access to peer-reviewed scientific publications and research data free of charge as early as possible in the dissemination process, and enable the use and reuse of scientific research results. Such policies should be implemented taking into account the challenge of intellectual property rights.

(6)

Policies on open access to scientific research results should apply to all research that receives public funds. Such policies are expected to improve conditions for conducting research by reducing duplication of efforts and by minimising the time spent searching for information and accessing it. This will speed up scientific progress and make it easier to cooperate across and beyond the EU. Such policies will also respond to calls within the scientific community for greater access to scientific information.

(7)

Enabling societal actors to interact in the research cycle improves the quality, relevance, acceptability and sustainability of innovation outcomes by integrating society’s expectations, needs, interests and values. Open access is a key feature of Member States’ policies for responsible research and innovation by making the results of research available to all and by facilitating societal engagement.

(8)

Businesses will also benefit from wider access to scientific research results. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular will improve their capacity to innovate. Policies on access to scientific information should therefore also facilitate access to scientific information for private companies.

(9)

The Internet has fundamentally changed the world of science and research. For instance, research communities have been experimenting with new ways to register, certify, disseminate and preserve scientific publications. Research and funding policies need to adapt to this new environment. It should be recommended to Member States to adapt and develop their policies on open access to scientific publications.

(10)

Open access to scientific research data enhances data quality, reduces the need for duplication of research, speeds up scientific progress and helps to combat scientific fraud. In its final report ‘Riding the wave: How Europe can gain from the rising tide of scientific data’ (5) in October 2010, the High Level Expert Group on Scientific Data emphasised the critical importance of sharing and preserving reliable data produced during the scientific process. Policy action on access to data is therefore urgent and should be recommended to Member States.

(11)

Preservation of scientific research results is in the public interest. It has traditionally been under the responsibility of libraries, especially national legal deposit libraries. The volume of research results generated is growing tremendously. Mechanisms, infrastructures and software solutions should be in place to enable long-term preservation of research results in digital form. Sustainable funding for preservation is crucial as curation costs for digitised content are still relatively high. Given the importance of preservation for the future use of research results, the establishment or reinforcement of policies in this area should be recommended to Member States.

(12)

Policies to be developed by Member States should be defined at national or sub-national level depending on the constitutional situation and the distribution of responsibilities for defining research policy.

(13)

Solid e-infrastructures underpinning the scientific information system will improve access to scientific information and the long-term preservation of it. This can boost collaborative research. According to the Communication of the Commission ‘ICT infrastructures for e-Science’ (6), e-Infrastructures are understood to be ‘an environment where research resources (hardware, software and content) can be readily shared and accessed wherever this is necessary to promote better and more effective research’. The further development of such infrastructures and their interconnection at European level should therefore be recommended.

(14)

The move towards open access is a worldwide endeavour, demonstrated by the ‘Revised strategy on UNESCO’s contribution to the promotion of open access to scientific information and research’ (7) and the ‘OECD Declaration on Access to Research Data from Public Funding’ (8). Member States should be part of this global endeavour and should set an example by enhancing an open, collaborative research environment based on reciprocity.

(15)

Given the transitional state of the publishing sector, stakeholders need to come together to accompany the transition process and look for sustainable solutions for the scientific publishing process.

(16)

On 12 December 2011 the Commission adopted a package consisting of a Communication on open data, a proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on reuse of public sector information (9) and new Commission rules on the documents it holds. The package presented the Commission’s strategy on open data in a single coherent framework, encompassing actions including this Recommendation.

(17)

This Recommendation is accompanied by a Communication in which the Commission defines its policy and vision on open access to research results. It outlines the actions the Commission will take as a body providing funding for scientific research from the Union budget.

(18)

Together with this Recommendation and the accompanying Communication the Commission is adopting a Communication on ‘A reinforced European Research Area partnership for excellence and growth’ in which it sets out the key priorities for completing the European Research Area, one of which is the optimal circulation, access to and transfer of scientific knowledge,

1.

Define clear policies for the dissemination of and open access to scientific publications resulting from publicly funded research. These policies should provide for:

Ensure that, as a result of these policies:

2.

Ensure that research funding institutions responsible for managing public research funding and academic institutions receiving public funding implement the policies by:

3.

Define clear policies for the dissemination of and open access to research data resulting from publicly funded research. These policies should provide for:

Ensure that, as a result of these policies:

4.

Reinforce the preservation of scientific information, by:

5.

Further develop e-infrastructures underpinning the system for disseminating scientific information by:

6.

Ensure synergies among national e-infrastructures at European and global level by:

7.

Participate in multi-stakeholder dialogues at national, European and/or international level on how to foster open access to and preservation of scientific information. Participants should in particular look at:

8.

Designate by the end of the year a national point of reference whose tasks will be:

9.

Inform the Commission 18 months from the publication of this Recommendation in the Official Journal of the European Union, and every two years thereafter, of action taken in response to the different elements of this Recommendation, in accordance with formalities to be defined and agreed. On this basis, the Commission will review the progress made across the EU to assess whether further action is needed to achieve the objectives laid down in this Recommendation.