In today’s knowledge-based digital economy, the way research is conducted, published and disseminated has fundamentally changed. In the past 20 years we’ve seen Open Access shift from a niche idea promoted by a group of passionate visionaries to a model officially endorsed by policy makers and funding bodies alike. The European Union, for example, recently mandated that by 2020, any research that owes its existence in some way to public funding must be freely accessible and reusable.

This mandate and the drive towards a more open future has pushed change in its wake, which has created both opportunities and challenges to various stakeholders in the scholarly communication process. There has been a huge expansion in new titles, both from new entrants and established traditional publishers, an increased administration burden on institutions and an expansion in new technologies to write, share, analyse and link scholarly content.

The Working Towards an Open Research Future workshop will explore how this fast-evolving landscape will affect the various stakeholders and what is being done to adapt to this new world. It will bring together a number of experts from publishers, institutions and technology companies to give their perspective on the future of open scholarly communication.

Many hope that the widespread adoption of OA will result in the democratisation of knowledge, boosting global prosperity and accelerating the pace of scientific discovery beyond the so-called “Ivory Tower.” Indeed we’ve already seen signs of this with emerging voices from the developing world making significant contributions to the worldwide scientific conversation, and reaching audiences that would have been entirely out of reach under legacy publishing models.

#OAFUTURE is organised by Hindawi and will be hosted at the Cambridge Union Society

AGENDA

14:00-14:15 Keynote #1 Publisher Perspective (Paul Peters, President, OASPA; CEO, Hindawi)

Brief overview of Open Access from a publisher’s perspective. What were the drivers for the conversion to open access, how have they changed, and what are the major open access discussions shaping the future for publishers. What are the broader infrastructural challenges faced by the industry as a whole and how are these being addressed?

14:20-15:10 Panel Discussion #1 Open Access Models

Moderator: Paul Peters

Open Access is evolving into many forms, this panel will look at some of the different models that have developed in this space. It will consider the merits and potential challenges that they present for publishers, institutions and funding bodies.

• Sara Grimme, Publishing & Product Director - Heliyon
• Matt Day, Head of Open and Data - Cambridge University Press
• Lara Speicher, Publishing Manager - UCL Press
  

15:10-15:25 Keynote #2 Institutional Perspective – (Dr Danny Kingsley)

The challenges of Open Access. What are the obstacles, annoyances and hazards for institutions in making their research output openly accessible? How has the landscape changed over the years, from a “nice to have” option put forward by more activist members of the research community, to an imperative supported by major funder. What steps need to be taken to ensure that, going forward, individual researchers are able to meet accessibility criteria and don’t fall foul of these new guidelines?

15:30 – 15:50 Coffee Break

15:50-16:30 Panel Discussion #2 Publishing Solutions

Moderator: (Dr. Danny Kingsley, University of Cambridge)

How are various stakeholders tackling the challenges outlined above by Dr Kingsley? With a vast number of new funder and institutional requirements increasing the burden on institutions and researchers what can be done to help?

• Matt Green, Head of Institutional Membership - Hindawi
• Catriona MacCallum - Acting Director of Advocacy at Public Library of Science PLOS
• Carolyn Alderson - Deputy Director Jisc Collections

16:30-17:10 Panel Discussion #3 Technology Innovation

Moderator: (Liz Allen, F1000)

How can technology help researchers collaborate effectively online; provide a view on usage and sharing far beyond traditional measures and create an interlinked infrastructure? This panel will look at ways in which technology can support the creation, distribution and discussion around scholarly content.

• Ali Smith, Web Developer - Overleaf
• Euan Adie, Founder - Altmetric
• Geoffrey Bilder - Director Of Strategic Initiatives – CrossRef

17:10-17:20 Closing Remarks

17:30- Refreshments at the Union Bar