On July 4th 2023, Canada’s Federal Research Granting Agencies launched a review into the Tri-Agency Open Access (OA) Policy on Publications. The goal is to find a way by 2025, if not sooner, to provide free access to all academic publications and to support research generated by the Tri-Agency.
This initiative includes several departments; Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). These agencies are responsible for promoting and granting public funds for research and innovation within Canada.
“The Agencies have a fundamental interest in promoting the availability of findings that result from the research they fund, including research publications and data, to the widest possible audience, and at the earliest possible opportunity. Societal advancement is made possible through widespread and barrier-free access to cutting-edge research and knowledge, enabling researchers, scholars, clinicians, policymakers, private sector and not-for-profit organizations and the public to use and build on this knowledge.” (science.gc.ca)
One of the proposed ways of doing this is by looking at Secondary Publishing Rights. This refers to the right to republish publically funded research in its entirety for free. This would allow for the research to be searched and accessed much more easily on the internet. This is already underway in the United States and Europe, with commitments to provide immediate open access for publicly funded research.
Currently, some traditional publishers allow for republication options with the publication contracts they hold, however, that route to secondary publishing can often include delays and can have limitations on reuse, such as not being able to republish the entire original work.
Why Push for Open Access with Academic Research?
It is widely accepted among many academics that research should be published through Open Access; whereas anyone can get free and unrestricted access to research information, especially information which was funded by the public. Results from a 2018 initiative, Plan S, showed that 74% of researchers surveyed agreed with the statement, “Having access to others’ research data benefits / would benefit my own research.”
The European report emphasized that Open Access is vital, as it provides support for further research, as well as the high need to support the transfer of knowledge between post secondary institutions and private industries with invested interests.
Enabling Canada’s research to be accessed without barriers will contribute to the public good will and can help in unearthing new innovations and discoveries. By adjusting the Copyright Act to include this, it would allow authors and researchers in academic settings the ability to make taxpayer-funded journal articles available to the public.
In a time plagued with misinformation, incomplete information, as well as concerning journalistic practices in which some news outlets seem to leave out much of the nuanced data when reporting on academic research, a move towards secondary publishing is a good step towards transparency and providing individuals the ability to make more informed and empowered decisions.
In short, the public has a right to access works that they have financed.
An avid book reader and proud library card holder, Angela is new to the world of e-Readers. She has a background in education, emergency response, fitness, loves to be in nature, traveling and exploring. With an honours science degree in anthropology, Angela also studied writing after graduation. She has contributed work to The London Free Press, The Gazette, The Londoner, Best Version Media, Lifeliner, and Citymedia.ca.
