An online workshop for managers from universities and scientific institutions took place on 22 September 2025. Entitled Information Budgets as a Management Task, the invitation-only event was organised jointly by the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) and the collaborative project open-access.network, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). It was the final workshop in the series Finanzielle Gestaltung der Open-Access-Transformation an Hochschulen und Wissenschaftseinrichtungen (Financial Organisation of the Open Access Transformation at Higher Education Institutions and Scientific Institutions), which was implemented from 2023 to 2025 by the project partners Bielefeld University Library and Helmholtz Open Science Office. The aim of the final workshop was to take stock three years after the publication of the German Science and Humanities Council’s Recommendations on the Transformation of Academic Publishing: Towards Open Access: What is the current status of development? What experiences have already been had? And how can university managers deploy information budgets as a strategic instrument in the open access transformation?

The concept of the information budget as a forward-looking management instrument was developed and recommended in 2022 by the German Science and Humanities Council. The purpose of an information budget is to bring together in one transparent total budget all expenditures relating to the costs of scholarly publications – for example procurement, promotion, subscriptions, article processing charges (APCs), and licence fees. The ultimate goal is to achieve an institution-wide overview in which expenditures for the provision of publications and information are transparently listed in order to obtain a solid basis for strategic decisions. Information budgets enable greater transparency, better management, and responsible use of resources. At the same time, they bring about a change of perspective, as scholarly publications are no longer viewed as an isolated cost factor but rather as a strategic element of university development and science policy.

The workshop made it clear that the establishment of an information budget is not just a question of technical and organisational implementability, but that, above all, it must be decided at management level so that the entire institution is involved in the processes. Information budgets are closely linked to strategic decisions, for example on the funding of open access, the management of publication costs, and the long-term focus of digital infrastructure. This calls for a common understanding between management, the administration, the library, and scientific staff on the following key questions:

• What goals is the institution pursuing with its publication strategy?
• How should resources be distributed?
• What governance structures are needed to make data-based decisions?

These aspects become visible precisely because an information budget is introduced. Therefore, information budgets are more than a controlling instrument; they also promote dialogue on scientific values and priorities.

The expert keynote at the beginning of the workshop was delivered by Professor Dr Gerard J. M. Meijer, Director at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and spokesperson of the German Science and Humanities Council working group “Transformation of Academic Publishing to Open Access”. He placed the concept of the information budget in the broader context of the open access transformation and the provision of scientific information. For Meijer, information budgets are not just a cost management tool but also an instrument for the development of institutional culture. He noted: “An information budget forces us to deal with the question of what we spend money on in research – and what values are behind it.”

Meijer stressed that the introduction of these budgets can succeed only if it is actively supported by management and implemented across all departments. To this end, the library, research management, and financial administration must work together more closely than has been the case up to now. Only in this way can information budgets deliver their potential: to create transparency, clarify priorities, and strategically manage the open access transformation.

The next speaker was Dr Henriette Rösch, Deputy Director of Leipzig University Library, who reported on the experiences at her university, where first steps were taken last year to establish an information budget as an internal management instrument to record and systematically analyse all costs of information provision. She reported on the following challenges:

• Heterogeneous financing structures: Faculty funds, third-party funds, and central funds had to be brought together.
• Data transparency: The recording and analysis of the costs called for new forms of data collection and integration.
• Communication and responsibility: The introduction of an information budget also meant initiating a continuous exchange between actors from different areas.

Henriette Rösch stressed that an information budget was not just a controlling tool but also an opportunity for communication. It created awareness and opened conversations about priorities and responsibility. The establishment of such structures was an important step towards the sustainable, data-based management of publication costs and open access tasks.

In the second contribution from practice, Professor Dr Ulrich Rückert, Vice-Rector for Digitalization and Data Infrastructure at Bielefeld University, and Dirk Pieper, Permanent Deputy Director of Bielefeld University Library, reported as follows on Bielefeld’s approaches and experiences: Bielefeld University began early on to bring together costs of subscriptions, publication fees, and open access funds and to develop digital systems to record and analyse information costs. The projects OpenAPC and openCost have produced helpful preparatory work and reusable results. At Bielefeld University, the information budget is embedded in the overall digitalization strategy and serves not only to increase cost transparency but also to integrate data flows between the library, the financial administration, and research data management. Ulrich Rückert noted: “An information budget is part of a university’s digital infrastructure and links data management, finances, and scientific responsibility.” It thus becomes an instrument of governance that helps to make decisions in a fact- and value-based manner.

Dr Jens-Peter Gaul, General Secretary of the German Rectors’ Conference, moderated the workshop and guided the discussion. Under his moderation, the participating managers engaged in an intensive exchange about experiences, obstacles, and success factors. They stressed the importance of using information budgets as a strategic instrument without overloading operational structures. It was less a matter of micromanaging than of providing a framework, setting priorities, and developing cultures. 

The discussion showed:

• Information budgets strengthen university managers’ strategic actions by creating transparency and a basis for decision-making processes.
• They support the transformation of the culture from cost distribution to active resource management.
• They call for institutional cooperation and policy commitment at the institutions.

The establishment of an information budget is a key to the sustainable organisation of the provision of scientific information, and its success is closely linked to institutional management responsibility.

Following the publication of the German Science and Humanities Council’s recommendations in 2022, numerous universities began introducing information budgets and implementing initial pilot projects.

Their experiences show:

• Technical and organisational obstacles can be overcome when management, university boards, the library, and the administration act together.
• Clearly defined goals and a binding management approach to achieving them are crucial.
• Information budgets are successful when they are embedded in the university’s overall strategy.

The event made it clear that the path to an institutionally embedded information budget is a gradual learning process – but one that can put the provision of scientific information on a new and sustainable footing.

The event “Information Budgets as a Management Task” concluded the workshop series “Financial Organisation of the Open Access Transformation at Higher Education Institutions and Scientific Institutions”, in which various aspects of information budgets were illuminated. At the same time, the end of the workshop series marked the beginning of an exchange at management level about institutional cooperation, knowledge transfer, and strategic action. open-access.network and the German Rectors’ Conference plan to continue this discussion and to document and share the results and experiences from the workshops. In doing so, they want to contribute to further honing the concept of the information budget and promoting models that are practicable throughout Germany.

Information budgets are not an end in themselves. Rather, they are a key to anchoring the goal of open science financially, organisationally, and politically.

Dammann, K., Schultze-Motel, P. (2025). Informationsbudget als Leitungsaufgabe. Ein Workshop von Hochschulrektorenkonferenz und open-access.network zur strategischen Steuerung der Open-Access-Transformation. open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.64395/ytm1v-nkz90