This review of science policy in the UK doesn't mention open access, except in one reference to OA for a database of patents. It doesn't mention the OA mandates at the Research Councils UK, for example. It doesn't recommend extending current OA policy, retreating, or even studying it.
There are certainly many other major topics to cover. But the report's focus is on "the role of science and innovation in ensuring the UK remains competitive in our increasingly globalised economy" (quoting the press release). Is Sainsbury saying that OA has no role to play in stimulating innovation and keeping the UK competitive?
This reminds me of the May 2006 report from the Royal Society on communicating the results of science the public. It didn't mention OA either.
David Sainsbury was the UK Under-Secretary of State for Science who refused to adopt the July 2004 OA recommendations of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. While considering the recommendations, he met with OA opponents roughly twice as often as with OA proponents, and met with the Reed Elsevier CEO three times more often than with any other stakeholder.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/07/2007 08:16:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
