Community over Commercialization
Adopted by its 193 Member States, the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science highlights the need to prioritize community over commercialization in its calls for the prevention of “inequitable extraction of profit from publicly funded scientific activities” and support for “non-commercial publishing models and collaborative publishing models with no article processing charges.” By focusing on these areas, we can achieve the original vision outlined when open access was first defined: “an old tradition and a new technology have converged to make possible an unprecedented public good.”
When commercial interests are prioritized over those of the communities that research seeks to serve, many concerning issues arise. Open Access Week provides an opportunity for individuals to discuss questions that are most relevant in their local context. These might include:
What is lost when a shrinking number of corporations control knowledge production rather than researchers themselves?
What is the cost of business models that entrench extreme levels of profit?
When does the collection and use of personal data begin to undermine academic freedom?
Can commercialization ever work in support of the public interest?
What options for using community-controlled infrastructure already exist that might better serve the interests of the research community and the public (such as preprint servers, repositories, and open publishing platforms)?
How can we shift the default toward using these community-minded options?
