Negotiating new business models with publishers
Open Access Transformation: The ZBW negotiates for free access to economic science
Science is facing a fundamental change worldwide. In the face of constantly rising costs and a growing volume of scientific publications behind paywalls, the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics is focusing on Open Access as the new standard for access to research results. The aim is to make scientific publications available to the scientific community without restrictions or financial barriers. The negotiation effort with scientific publishers is enormous, as the structures of the market and the financing models have to be adapted in the long term.
Why Open Access?
Traditional publication models require high fees for access to content created by researchers. Open Access, on the other hand, makes research results freely accessible and thus enables free use and dissemination. This model strengthens the independence of science and makes findings accessible to everyone – in research, teaching and society. However, its implementation requires comprehensive adjustments to financing and licensing structures.
The negotiation environment and the transformation
Against this background, a significant part of the ZBW’s work consists of jointly modifying structures with partners and concluding consortium agreements with international publishers for German universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutions. The aim of these negotiations is to establish open access options without incurring additional costs for academic institutions.
Jens Lazarus, Head of Inventory and Licence Management, ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics: “What we are doing here is converting an entire market to a different financing model. So from that point of view. I think we need to have more staying power.”
The agreement with the fourth-largest academic publisher Taylor & Francis represents a first step in the transition to open access models. However, the large academic publishers in particular operate in a complex market environment in which licence fees are only part of the business model. Publishers such as Elsevier and Springer increasingly see themselves as providers of research data and evaluation systems and less as producers of scientific journals.
The conclusion of transformation contracts for open access is therefore a long-term process that requires both the flexibility of publishers and the financial adaptability of academic institutions. The ZBW has many years of experience in designing these contracts and harmonising them with the specific needs of German science.
🎙️Listening tip: Podcast episode with Jens Lazarus (in German): „Open-Access-Transfornation im wissenschaftlichen Publikationsmarkt“
Shifting costs: a balancing act
The switch to open access means that traditional budgeting approaches need to be scrutinised and in some cases radically adapted. In subscription models, academic institutions paid for access to research results, which was reflected as a fixed amount in their budgets. With Open Access, however, the focus of funding is increasingly shifting to publication costs, so-called Article Processing Charges (APCs). This means that institutions that publish a lot require significantly higher funding than those that publish only a little.
Jens Lazarus, Head of Inventory and Licence Management, ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics: “At some point, institutions that perhaps publish less have to forego budgeting in favour of institutions that publish a lot. And that, I think, is the conflict that we also have internally.”
The challenge for the scientific community and, in particular, for consortium-leading institutions such as the ZBW and publishers is to create a funding system that supports both frequent publishers and institutions with a lower publication density and thus enables a fair distribution of costs.
Changes in cooperation with publishers
For the ZBW, working on open access models requires not only patience but also a rethink, as publishers continue to pursue their commercial interests and focus on revenue expectations. Negotiations with Taylor & Francis have shown that publishers are prepared to break new ground and explore different business models under the pressure of changing research policy conditions. The negotiated entry into open access with Taylor & Francis therefore represents an important first step, but is not yet a final solution.
The ZBW therefore favours negotiation models that enable gradual transformation and offer both sides the necessary flexibility to jointly test how the complex market structures can be adapted. In the long term , the aim is not only to promote hybrid models in which publications are partly freely accessible and partly behind paywalls, but also to create completely open publication models.
International co-operation as a basis
The open access transformation is a project that needs to be coordinated internationally. It is difficult to establish open access as a standard in Germany alone, as publishers operate internationally. The ZBW cooperates closely with European and North American research institutions and libraries in order to drive the transformation forward together. Europe, which promoted open access early on through research funding, plays a central role here, and North America has now also developed a strong interest in open science models. In the long term, internationally harmonised licensing and financing models are required to make open access to knowledge a global standard.
Open Access and the role of libraries
For academic institutions, the shift towards open access means that libraries are becoming more involved in the publication process. Whereas in the past their role was primarily to provide access to academic publications, libraries are now developing into strategic partners that support the entire publication process. Libraries are now more than ever a point of contact for researchers when it comes to questions about publication funding and offer advice on funding opportunities and open access publication funds. They also play an important role in increasing the value and visibility of their own research in an international context.
Jens Lazarus: “It’s also about money. Who will finance my publication? Do I have to pay for it from my own research funds or will the library miraculously take over because negotiated well?”
Through negotiations and publication funds, the ZBW enables economic researchers to publish their results with maximum visibility and without financial burdens. Open Access publications are demonstrably more frequently cited and thus make a greater contribution to the international reputation of science.
Open Access as a sustainable scientific model
The transformation to open access will have a lasting impact on science. This will strengthen the role of libraries and redefine cooperation with publishers. The ZBW sees itself as a driving force for open, accessible science and relies on cooperative solutions and long-term negotiations. In the long term, open access not only offers a fairer distribution of scientific knowledge, but also new opportunities for researchers who want to make their work accessible to a wider public.
*The text was written on 25 October 2024.
This text was translated on 20 January 2025 using DeeplPro.