Towards Open and Equitable Access to Research and Knowledge for Development

Unequal access to and distribution of public knowledge is governed by Northern standards and is increasingly inappropriate in the age of the networked “Invisible College”. Academic journals remain the primary distribution mechanism for research findings, but commercial journals are largely unaffordable for developing countries; local journals—more relevant to resolving problems in the South—are near-invisible and under-valued. Donor solutions are unsustainable, are governed by markets rather than user needs, and instil dependency. Open access is sustainable and research driven and builds independence and the capacity to establish a strong research base; it is already converting local journals to international journals. However, as open access becomes the norm, standards for the assessment of journal quality and relevance remain based on Northern values that ignore development needs and marginalise local scholarship. [PLoS Medicine, March 29, 2011 ] http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001016