Background

In 2012, the European Commission intends to adopt a communication and recommendation on access to and preservation of scientific information in the digital age. This initiative builds on earlier policy developments in this area, and is being developed within the policy contexts of the EU flagship initiatives ‘Innovation Union’ and ‘Digital agenda for Europe’, and of the push for improved knowledge circulation in the European research area (ERA).

The communication will take stock of developments in the area of scientific information, and set out the actions that the Commission intends to take on open access to publications and data in the context of research projects funded by the Union budget. The recommendation will detail specific actions to be taken at Member State level.

Consultation of interested parties forms part of the policy process. The purpose of this open consultation was to gather information from as many sources as possible, including governments, research institutions and universities/research institutes, libraries, scientific publishers, research funding organisations, businesses, individual researchers and other interested parties on their views on scientific information in the digital age. The consultation feeds into the development of possible policy options to be considered, and contributed to the ex ante impact assessment for the communication and recommendation to the Council on scientific information.

The online consultation was launched on 15 July 2011 and closed on 9 September 2011. The consultation was published on the Commission’s website (at http://ec.europa.eu/research/consultations/scientific_information/consultation_en.htm).

Results of the public consultation on scientific information in the digital age (preliminary version)

Source: EC DG Research and Innovation