OECD report identifies policy options to promote digital scientific publishing
A report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has outlined a number of policies and initiatives which, it says, could enhance the digital delivery of scientific and technical information. The report was produced by the OECD working party on the Information Economy (WPIE) as part of a wider study on digital broadband content, also covering music, online computer games and mobile content services. The report recognises the dual importance of scientific publishing, both in diffusing scientific knowledge to drive economic growth and further research, and as a significant economic activity in its own right. To give an idea of the size of the sector, the report notes that in 2004, gross revenues for scientific publishing in the US were between 7 and 11 billion USD, compared with 14 billion USD for the sound recording and music publishing industry. The analysis covers scientific, technical, medical and arts publishing; journals, reference books and research databases; and academic publishing, as well as certain areas of professional publishing. While the report notes that the scientific publishing industry has taken a lead in the digital delivery of content (with an estimated 75 per cent of scholarly journals available online in 2003), it also recognises that certain advances in digital technology could conflict with some existing business practices and models. 'The key issue is whether there are new opportunities for science communication systems to better serve researchers [and] communicate and disseminate research findings to users,' say the authors. What is certain from the analysis is that digital publishing presents considerable challenges to the industry. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) in publishing 'are both sustaining technologies that improve the performance of established products and business models, and disruptive technologies that [...] change the ways that industries function,' for example by eroding existing revenue models, creating new business models and changing relationships with the user. After analysing the three main emerging digital delivery business models -aggregated journal content paid for by the subscriber (the 'Big Deal'), author-paid open access publishing, and open access institutional archives and repositories - the report says that in the immediate future there is likely to be 'a period of experimentation around the 'author pays' version of open access publishing, combined with the emergence of a range of hybrids based around mixes of subscription-based and different forms of open access.' However, it goes on to predict that any changes in the current system of research journals and peer review will depend on factors such as the changing needs of researchers and the impacts of eScience, the opportunities offered by rapidly developing ICTs, and the underlying economic characteristics of information. Nonetheless, there may be opportunities to develop new systems that serve researchers, research users and research funders more effectively, and which increase returns on R&D investment and enhance innovation, and the report identifies a number of areas where governments and other stakeholders can help to maximise such opportunities. For example, it stresses that: 'Access to public and government-funded research content is a crucial issue, and there is considerable potential for governments to provide a lead in enabling digital delivery and enhanced access to publicly funded scientific and technical information.' Governments also have a role to play in providing the necessary ICT skills and related business skills training to support digital delivery, and given the rapid changes in technologies and skills needs, new strategies, partnerships and programmes may be needed. Furthermore, the report adds: 'Digital delivery and access can be enhanced by removing barriers and disincentives to use by minimising regulatory differences between digital content and other forms of content,' again an area where national authorities must take the lead. Industry associations, learned societies and publicly funded research agencies, meanwhile, can provide information on new developments in digital scientific publishing by, for example, supporting case studies, carrying out research into emerging business models, and disseminating information to the providers and users of digital scientific content. A combination of these informing, enabling and facilitating initiatives can support continued development of sustainable digital delivery business models that enhance access to scientific and technical information, improve the efficiency of research and increase returns on the very substantial public investment in R&D, the report concludes.