The Lords Science and Technology Committee¡¯s report on open access, published today, also criticises RCUK¡¯s lack of consultation before publishing the policy last July.

During a hearing in the committee¡¯s inquiry, RCUK representatives made clear that the policy will be phased in over five years, during which longer embargoes than those stated in the policy will be tolerated for repository-based green open access.

The report welcomes this flexibility, but adds that ¡°the lack of clarity in RCUK policy and guidance, and the consequent confusion, especially given the imminent start date of 1 April, are unacceptable¡±.

The committee is also critical of RCUK¡¯s failure to consult widely before publishing its finalised open access policy.

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¡°RCUK has attended various stakeholder meetings in recent months, and circulated a draft policy to certain groups before publication¡­It did not, however, hold a public consultation and most of the discussions about the policy have taken place since its release,¡± it says.

¡°In the light of the significant confusion and perceptions that RCUK, at worst, ¡®acted unilaterally¡¯ [¡­] we recommend that [the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills] undertake a review of how RCUK consulted over this significant change in policy with the scientific and publishing communities, to ensure that lessons are learnt.¡±

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The report also criticises BIS for not carrying out a full cost-benefit analysis of its preference for gold (journal-provided) over green open access and calls on it to carry out an analysis that is regularly updated ¡°to reflect actual rather than projected costs during the transition period¡±.

It welcomes RCUK¡¯s commitment to monitor whether the rest of the world is implementing similarly gold-focused policies, which will be necessary if the UK is to avoid a long-term necessity to pay both to publish and to read articles from other countries.

¡°The Government must co-ordinate with other countries on open access policies,¡± the report says.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com