Managing the transition to open access: Report examines the role for intermediaries

A new report from the UK Open Access Implementation Group examines the potential part that intermediaries could play in helping universities, funders and publishers to manage the impact of increasing volumes of open access article processing charges.

The implementation of the Finch report and new policies from the Research Councils are likely to herald a significant increase in the volume of open access publishing in the UK and in the payment of article processing charges (APCs). The new report, "The Potential Role for Intermediaries in Managing the Payment of Open Access Article Processing Charges," reveals an almost universal consensus that work is required to develop and implement standards to facilitate more effective flows between authors, publishers, universities and funders of information relating to APCs.

The report describes the key elements that these stakeholder groups think are needed to create an efficient and effective gold open access market - including scalability, low transaction costs and effective interfaces. It then outlines a range of value-added services that could be provided.