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‘Big Deals’ are one of the dominant but highly-disputed business models in academic publishing. The model needs to be further analysed before it can be used as an instrument to implement and increase Open Access. This workshop was as organised to trigger further expert discussions on the current business models and consider the available alternatives.

This open letter issued by the international research community calls on Members of the European Parliament to halt the adoption of harmful provisions found in the current draft of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, which could threaten Open Access and Open Science.

Science Europe is committed to playing a role in accomplishing the transition to Open Access in an efficient and sustainable way and encourages scientific institutions to disclose payments of Open Access publication fees by participating in the ‘Open APC Initiative.’ This paper highlights how this will help create a more transparent cost structure in the Open Access publication market and stimulate competition.

CESAER, EUA, LERU, and Science Europe release this joint statement calling on European policy makers to provide new momentum for the European Research Area (ERA). The ERA is a treaty obligation of the European Union and today, more than ever, greater commitment to research is needed to tackle the challenges that Europe faces. By strengthening the ERA, and increasing funding for research, European policy makers would be giving Europe the resources it needs to embark on another 60 years of peace and prosperity.

Open Access greatly improves the pace, efficiency, and efficacy of research. This report highlights the efforts made by public research organisations in Europe to develop and implement Open Access policies and addresses the challenges faced by different actors in order to facilitate and accelerate the transition towards full Open Access for all scholarly publications by 2020.

Decisive action is needed to transition towards more effectively and efficiently towards an Open Access publishing system. This paper presents some of the recent trends and developments in the transition to Open Access, as well as various business models currently in use which aim to facilitate this transition. It also highlights expected benefits and underlines remaining challenges.

This position statement highlights the added value of Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) as perceived by Science Europe Member Organisations, and makes two recommendations on the future of joint programming: one with regards to the evaluation of JPIs, and a second one concerning their governance. The aim is to stimulate other stakeholders – including the European Commission – to join in this discussion.

This publication by Science Europe’s Scientific Committee for the Social Sciences addresses two audiences: scientists, especially those who have been traditionally more resistant to the OA approach, and policy makers. In it, the Scientific Committee for Social Sciences proposes a ‘Diamond Engagement’ concept with the three key principles: partnership; standardisation and interoperability; and enabling structures.

Open Access, as defined in the Berlin Declaration, means unrestricted, online access to peer-reviewed, scholarly research papers for reading and productive re-use, not impeded by any financial, organisational, legal or technical barriers. Ideally, the only restriction on use is an obligation to attribute the work to the author. Science Europe Member Organisation are committed to a shared set of principles on Open Access to ensure consistency and coherence in their efforts and activities.

The 2012 Communication ‘A Reinforced European Research Area Partnership for Excellence and Growth’ laid out the current approach for realising a European Research Area (ERA). As this approach is now being reviewed by the European institutions, Science Europe puts forward its analysis of Priority One of the Communication, in order to start a fruitful dialogue with the European institutions on the future of ERA policy. This analysis provides a practical example as to why the current ERA Communication approach needs to be thoroughly reviewed if ERA policy is to have a real impact.

The Roadmap, approved by the Science Europe General Assembly in November 2013, is Science Europe’s action plan to contribute to the elements of a successful research system. It acts as a framework for voluntary collective activity, providing a long-term strategy for the association. The ‘Priority Action Areas’ are those in which Science Europe members believe that there is a potential to achieve tangible and substantive progress, and where they can add real value by working together.

Published on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Berlin Declaration, this paper encourages the humanities research community to engage with the new possibilities that Open Access can offer. It also calls on research funding and performing organisations to work together to tackle the specificities and remaining potential obstacles.

Science Europe Member Organisations are committed to ensuring that publicly-funded research and innovation in Europe has the maximum impact, leading to new discoveries, and providing solutions that deliver societal benefit. Research publications are one of the main results of the research process and the Research Performing and Research Funding Organisations that comprise Science Europe share the vision of increasing the impact and reducing the costs of research publications by moving to a system of Open Access.