APPENDIX 140
Supplementary evidence from the Research
Councils UK
RCUK'S RESPONSES TO THE SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS
Q 361 AND Q 371 ARISING FROM THE SESSION ON 5 MAY
CURRENT PRACTICE
IN THE
GRANT-AWARDING
RESEARCH COUNCILS
One of the key issues relating to the development
of an open-access publication model is the question of how research
authors or funders might meet the fee raised by publishers for
publishing research outputsie author charges. In its submission
to the S&T Committee inquiry into scientific publications,
RCUK has recognised that "there is already a need for scientists
to be able to pay some publishing fees; Research Councils will
need to ensure that this can be met, within reasonable limits."
This note summarises how the regulations and
practice of the grant-awarding Research Councils (including AHRB,
but excluding CCLRC) deal with such charges.
Regulations and practice
At present, Research Council grants regulations
tend to address the issue of author charges narrowly, by focusing
on the payment of page chargesie the imposition by publishers
of an additional cost for instance for extra pages or extra colour
figures for articles appearing in subscription printed journalsor
reprint charges. However, author charges in open-access models
are a broader concept than page charges, and the grants regulations
do not explicitly recognise the distinction between the two.
Most Research Councils meet page or reprint
charges as a direct cost, under the heading of consumables or
exceptional costspractices vary slightly between Research
Councils, but are essentially similar. The MRC is exceptional
in that it specifically recognises charges associated with open-access
publishing as an element of indirect costs, under the heading
of central institutional libraries; other Research Councils include
libraries as an indirect cost, but with no specific mention of
author charges. The absence of any reference to author charges
or open-access publication in most grants regulations suggests
thatto datethey have generally not been a major
factor in grant awards. Practice has evolved to pay such charges
where this is deemed appropriate, and also varies from Council
to Council. The situation is not as clear-cut as was suggested
in the RCUK submission to the Select Committee, when we erroneously
indicated that EPSRC is the only Research Council that allows
page charges as a direct costRCUK apologizes for this error.
The CCLRC generally is not a grant-awarding
body and does not pay paper charges to authors for articles published
in UK or European journals. However, HM Treasury rules do allow
it to contribute towards paper charges for US journals at a ceiling
of $200 per page and these costs are met as consumables. During
the last financial year the CCLRC established its own institutional
repository containing over 18,000 published reports of the scientific
output of its staff and facilities. The intention is to make these
reports freely available through the CCLRC external web, subject
to copyright restrictions. Now that 83% of journals allow self
archiving by author, CCLRC will be pressing publishers to allow
completion of the repository with full text of all articles.
Costs
It is extremely difficult to estimate the costs
that Research Councils currently incur in author charges. This
is because these charges are subsumed under costs such as consumables,
and do not appear as separate headings on financial systems. RCUK
has already committed itself to set out a pan-Research Council
policy on publications, which we anticipate will be ready by the
end of the year; this will include a look at how author charges
might be more readily identified, as well as a possible rationalization
of cross-Research Council practices relating to publications practice
in general.
CLOSING STATEMENT
RCUK, on behalf of all the Research Councils,
will publish a policy statement on learned and scientific publications
later this year and by way of a brief closing statement I attach
at Annex 1 details of the principles upon which this policy will
be based.
May 2004
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