He has had a number of years experience in information technology policy, more general industry policy and related economic research. He has published and spoken widely on information technology, industry, and science and technology policy issues and is a regular consultant to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. In 1998, John was awarded a National Australia Day Council, Australia Day Medal for his contribution to IT industry policy development.

 

Prof. Houghton's talk, "Exploring the Econonic Impacts of Open Access to Publicly Funded Research",  look in depth at four projects in the UK, the EU, and the US, that examine the sustainability and viability of open access publishing models, along with their research implications and infrastructure demands.   

 

TITLE:  Exploring the Economic Impacts of Open Access to Publicly Funded Research

 

Abstract: Many research funding bodies around the world, including the ARC and NHMRC, request or demand that publications, and sometimes also research data, arising from their funded research be made openly and freely available on the Internet. They do this in the belief that open access increases the economic and social impacts, generating a higher return on their investment in research.

 

The release early in 2009 of the UK JISC report Economic implications of alternative scholarly publishing models generated considerable interest and debate. That interest led to a number of follow-on studies, including national studies in the Netherlands and Denmark, and a three-country comparison, that we presented to the European Commission, which compared the impacts of alternative scholarly publishing models on one of the larger, a mid-sized and one of the smaller European countries. 

 

During 2010, were four further projects, one of which is still underway. The first focused on Germany, and brought the German National Licensing Program (NLP) into the mix of alternative scholarly communication models. The second focused on the UK, and used the JISC EI-ASPM model to examine the cost impacts of alternative scholarly publishing models for a sample of UK universities. The third significantly extended one aspect of the underlying method used in the original study to explore the possible return on investment implications of the proposed US Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA). The fourth approached the issues from the user perspective, exploring the information needs and access levels of small high-technology firms in Denmark, and estimating the economic impact of academic research for such firms. Current work includes a study for the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) looking at the economic impacts of more open access to public sector information and research data.

 

This presentation will summarise what these projects reveal about the viability and sustainability of open access models, and their potential impacts on research, research infrastructure and the communication and application of publicly funded research findings.

For more information see http://www.cfses.com/EI-ASPM/ 

 

WHERE: Terrace Room 613, Top floor, Sir Llew Edwards Building (no. 14), St. Lucia Campus, The University of Queensland

 

DATE: Wednesday, May 4, 2011

 

WHEN: 1:00 pm - 2::30 pm  (12:30 for 1:00 pm, coffee served)

 

SPONSORED BY: The Office of the Vice Chancellor, The Centre for Educational Innovation & Technology (Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic), and the University Library.

 

For more information please contact: CEIT or call +61 7 3346 6283