ENTRY ID: SCALE-GLOBAL-0003
Date added: 11/07/2026
Entry status: [ ] Draft [ ] Under review [x] Published
Submitted by: GSTIA Open Library
1. Solution Title
A Global Framework for Open Access to Publicly Funded Research.
2. Step-by-Step Implementation Guide
This guide is based on the evidence of corporate concentration in academic publishing and the growing movement for open access reform, as articulated by researchers and advocates worldwide. The core argument is that publicly funded research constitutes a global public good, and its current enclosure behind expensive paywalls by a small number of for-profit corporations is an institutional failure that stifles innovation, exacerbates inequality, and violates the public trust . The global framework must leverage the power of research funders to mandate open access and reform the scholarly communication system.
Step 1 – Achieve Universal Adoption of Mandatory Open Access Policies by All Public Research Funders
All national and international public research funding agencies must mandate that the published results of the research they fund be made freely and immediately available online. This is the most powerful lever for change . The 2022 White House OSTP memo requiring immediate open access for all US federally funded research by 2026 and the UKRI policy effective from April 2022 are leading examples of this approach. These mandates must be the default, not the exception.
Step 2 – Adopt Plan S Principles as the International Standard for Open Access
cOAlition S, an international consortium of research funders, has established Plan S, a set of principles requiring immediate open access to all peer-reviewed scholarly articles from funded research . The global framework should coalesce around these principles, which require:
- Immediate Open Access: No embargo period .
- Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) Licences: To allow maximum reuse and impact .
- Compliant Publication Venues: Open Access journals or platforms that meet technical standards, or subscription journals that allow immediate deposit in an Open Access repository .
- Transparent Pricing: Cost and pricing information for Open Access publishing must be openly available .
Step 3 – Prohibit the Use of Public Funds to Pay for Publishing in “Hybrid” Journals
Public funders should end the practice of paying excessive Article Processing Charges (APCs) for articles published in hybrid journals (subscription journals that also offer an open access option for individual articles). This practice, which Plan S has discouraged, often results in “double-dipping” where publishers charge both subscription fees and APCs . Instead, funding should support fully Open Access journals, platforms, and equitable transformative agreements that transition entire journals to full Open Access .
Step 4 – Strengthen Antitrust Enforcement to Break the Corporate Monopoly
The academic publishing market is an oligopoly where five publishers control over 50% of articles and 70% of citations, with profit margins exceeding 30% . Competition authorities, such as the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission, must investigate and curb anti-competitive practices, including:
- “Big Deal” Bundling: Forcing libraries to buy large, expensive bundles of journals to access a few key titles .
- Excessive Pricing and Price Increases: Charging prices far above the marginal cost of digital distribution, well in excess of inflation .
- Mergers and Acquisitions: Allowing further concentration in an already highly concentrated market .
The goal is to foster a more diverse and competitive publishing landscape.
Step 5 – Establish Global Equity Funds to Ensure Access for Low-Income Countries
Address the global North-South knowledge divide by creating a UNESCO-led fund, potentially pooling a small percentage of global subscription revenues, to ensure full access parity for researchers and institutions in low- and middle-income countries . This fund should also support the development of local publishing infrastructure and capacity building in these regions.
Step 6 – Reform the Research Assessment Culture to Value All Forms of Research Output
The current system overvalues publication in a few prestigious “high-impact” journals, which are largely owned by the corporate publishers. This gives these publishers immense power and distorts research priorities . Funders and universities must reform hiring, promotion, and grant allocation to reward a broader range of scholarly contributions, including:
- Open Access Publications in quality venues.
- Preprints and Open Data.
- Public Engagement and Knowledge Translation.
- The Quality, not just the Venue, of the Research.
Step 7 – Invest in and Strengthen Non-Profit, Community-Led Publishing Infrastructure
Provide sustainable funding and support for non-profit and community-led publishing initiatives that are not driven by profit motives. This includes the Public Library of Science (PLOS) , university presses, and scholar-led journals. This is essential to create a viable and resilient alternative to the corporate system. Supporting the global shift towards Open Science, including the use of Open Access repositories and platforms, is a critical component of this .
3. Polycrisis Strand(s)
Primary strand: Digital infrastructure and AI
Interaction effects with other strands:
This solution directly addresses how the current academic publishing system acts as a barrier to solving all the other polycrisis strands. The cost of knowledge stifles the rapid dissemination of research needed to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and global pandemics . It creates and exacerbates inequality, as researchers in the Global South cannot access vital information . It hinders progress in education. It is itself a product of globalisation and finance, with a few corporations based in wealthy nations extracting enormous profits from a global system . Open Access is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
4. Scale Category
| Scale | Primary? | Enabling role? |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | x | |
| Family / Household | ||
| Community / Village | ||
| City / Region | ||
| Nation State | x | |
| Global | x |
Notes on scale interaction: This is a fundamentally global framework, as the problem is global and requires a coordinated response from funders, governments, and institutions worldwide . Individual and community-level researchers, and the public, are the intended beneficiaries, while national funders and universities are the key actors in implementation.
5. Dewey Decimal Classification
Primary DDC: 070.5 – Publishing
Secondary DDC(s): 347 – Intellectual property and copyright law; 338.4 – Economics of publishing; 001.4 – Research methods and communication; 341.77 – International law on science and technology
Subject headings (LC or local): Open access publishing; Scholarly communication; Academic publishing–Economic aspects; Research–Finance.
6. Regional Applicability
Evidenced implementations: The US White House OSTP memo for immediate OA by 2026 ; the UK’s UKRI policy and its alignment with the REF2029 criteria ; the European Union’s Plan S ; the FCDO’s open access policy ; the Wellcome Trust’s mandate . The “Cost of Knowledge” petition and the resignation of editorial boards from journals like Topology and Lingua demonstrate active resistance within academia.
Climatic/geographic scope: [ ] Tropical [ ] Temperate [ ] Arid [ ] Arctic/sub-arctic [ ] Coastal [x] All
Political economy prerequisites:
- A functioning international governance system (e.g., UN agencies like UNESCO, and research funder consortia like cOAlition S).
- Political will among major funders (e.g., US, UK, EU) to enforce mandates.
- Organised academic community willing to advocate for change and adopt new practices.
Contraindications:
- Nations where there is no government or institutional support for public research.
- A strong preference for the status quo among influential academic institutions and researchers, who may be invested in the prestige economy of “top” journals.
- Ineffective or dysfunctional UN system unable to coordinate member states on this issue.
7. Cost Estimate
Cost notes: The primary cost driver is the transition away from the current system. While APCs for Open Access publishing can be costly, and the total global cost of the transition is significant, this expenditure replaces the even larger and inequitable $19 billion global subscription market . The costs should be seen as a reinvestment in a more efficient and equitable system for a global public good.
Funding mechanisms used in existing implementations: Direct government budget allocation to funding agencies (e.g., UKRI ring-fences £3.5m for OA monographs ), global health funds, and institutional budgets.
8. Timescale Estimate
Time to initial implementation: 1-2 years for funders to adopt mandates (some deadlines are imminent, e.g., the US OSTP memo deadline of 2026 ).
Time to measurable impact: 3-5 years to see a significant increase in immediate open access for newly published research.
Time horizon of full benefit: 10-20+ years, as a fundamental shift in research culture and the publishing landscape will take time. Breaking up the monopoly will be a long-term process.
Short-term vs long-term tension note: There is significant short-term institutional and career pressure to publish in prestigious (and expensive) journals. The corporatisation of research assessment incentivises this behaviour . However, with funder mandates removing the choice of where to publish, and with reforms to research assessment, this pressure can be alleviated in the long term, creating a fairer and more accessible system.
9. Evidence Base
Primary source(s):
- Larivière, V., Haustein, S., & Mongeon, P. (2015). The Oligopoly of Academic Publishers in the Digital Era. PLoS ONE 10(6): e0127502 .
- Piwowar, H., et al. (2018). The state of OA: A large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles. PeerJ 6: e4375 .
- Larivière et al. (2014) cited in Sparkco analysis .
- Peterson et al. (2021) cited in Sparkco analysis .
- The Cost of Knowledge (2012) – Boycott of Elsevier .
- cOAlition S (2018) – Plan S Principles .
- White House OSTP (2022) – Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research .
Evidence quality: [x] Peer-reviewed [x] Grey literature [x] Practitioner case study [ ] Modelled projection
Known counter-evidence or limitations:
The primary limitation is the political and ideological challenge. The corporate publishers are extremely powerful, profitable, and well-lobbied . There is also strong path dependency and inertia within academia, with a deeply embedded prestige economy that rewards publishing in “top” journals, many of which are controlled by the corporate oligopoly. The transition also raises complex questions about who pays for Open Access and how to ensure that the system is equitable, particularly for authors without funding. However, the evidence base for the problem and the effectiveness of mandates is very strong, and the solution is gathering unprecedented political momentum.
Supporting media (external links only):
- https://sparkco.ai/blog/academic-publishing-paywall-knowledge-access-restriction – “A comprehensive 2025 industry analysis by Sparkco.”
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsevier_boycott – “Wikipedia page on the Cost of Knowledge campaign, hosted by Wikipedia.”
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/08/25/ostp-issues-guidance-to-make-federally-funded-research-freely-available-without-delay/ – “The official White House OSTP memo on immediate open access, hosted by the White House.”
- https://www.coalition-s.org/ – “Official site for Plan S and cOAlition S, hosted by cOAlition S.”
Link verification date: 11/07/2026
10. Implementation Indicators
Output indicators:
- Number of national and international public research funders with mandatory open access policies.
- Percentage of publicly funded journal articles published as immediate open access.
- Global investment in non-profit and community-led publishing infrastructure.
- Number of countries implementing national strategies for open access to research, as a central component of their digital infrastructure and innovation policies.
Outcome indicators:
- Percentage of global research that is freely available (increase from ~28% ).
- Global market share of the “Big Five” publishers.
- Global subscription costs and profit margins of the “Big Five” publishers.
- Citations and reuse metrics for open access articles vs. paywalled articles.
- Access rates for researchers and institutions in low- and middle-income countries.
Reporting mechanisms: UN agencies (UNESCO), research funders, and institutions will monitor these indicators and report progress.
11. Related Entries
- [Solution Title: A National Strategic Framework for Invasive Species Control] (This solution is a prerequisite for the rapid sharing of research needed to combat all environmental problems).
- [Solution Title: A Global Framework for Invasive Alien Species Governance and Control] (This is the global complement to the national entry).
- [Solution Title: A Municipal Strategy for Controlling and Managing Japanese Knotweed] (The municipal application of the broader principles).
- [Solution Title: Reforming Research Assessment Culture] (A complementary and essential policy shift to break the prestige economy).