At the 25th annual conference of the German Initiative for Network Information (Deutsche Initiative für Netzwerkinformation, DINI), key topics relating to transparency in the financing of specialised scientific information were discussed in the workshop Transparenz in der Wissenschaft: Strategien für offene Informationsversorgung (Transparency in Science: Strategies for Open Information Provision). Experts from academia, libraries and initiatives identified key challenges and options for action. The results form the basis for the development of a national concept for a transparency initiative. The aim is to disclose costs and contracts in the academic sector and to make the transformation to open access fairer and more comprehensible. OA Datenpraxis and Transform2Open have now published the workshop report (in German) on Zenodo.
Clear goals and cultural change for more transparency
One key finding is the realisation that clear target definitions are necessary for the disclosure of costs, contract design and the fair distribution of funding tasks.A cultural change was also emphasised as a prerequisite for sustainable transparency processes.This includes an increased awareness of the importance of openness in science, the development of new routines and structures and a willingness to question traditional models and replace them with collaborative approaches. Researchers and other stakeholders are to be encouraged through training and incentive systems to adopt transparent practices.
Challenges and measures
In particular, the fair distribution of costs in the science system, the disclosure of subscription and transformation costs and the handling of non-disclosure agreements were emphasised as key challenges. The proposed measures include the use of standardised data collection and the further development of existing data sources such as OpenAPC or the German Library Statistics. Co-operation between institutions, funders and projects was identified as crucial to establishing a fair and sustainable transparency initiative.
Further information
- The detailed workshop report (in German) is available on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13837272