Achieving an Equitable Transition to Open Access for Researchers in Lower and Middle-Income Countries

ICSR PERSPECTIVES JULY 2020

, STM Outreach Director and Publisher Coordinator, Research4Life , STM Outreach Director and Publisher Coordinator, Andrea Powell Consulting Research , Director, Johnson Rob Elsevier Manager, Evaluation , Senior Research Rachel Herbert Authors Middle-Income Countries Researchers in Lower and Transition to OpenTransition Access for Achieving an Equitable Introduction

The origins of this White Paper can be traced to a discussion The Task Force agreed that the first step started in mid-2019 between a number of scholarly publishers towards addressing these challenges was to gather evidence about the and the Publisher Coordinator for Research4Life (a role progress already made towards Open that is supported financially by the STM Association). These Access in less advantaged regions, interlocutors voiced concern that while the publishing and using the Research4Life country list research communities in the developed world were making (Research4Life, 2020) as a proxy, and steady and positive progress towards universal Open Access about the obstacles preventing it from progressing more rapidly. The based on a ‘pay to publish’ model, those same communities in International Centre for the Study the less developed lower and middle-income countries (often of Research at Elsevier offered to referred to as the “Global South”) were being excluded from carry out this analysis and to make these discussions. Following discussions at the STM Board in the results widely available as a basis for further discussion and analysis. the summer of 2019, an informal Task Force of publishers and This paper presents those results other interested parties was set up to explore ways in which and captures the conclusions from a a transition to Open Access could be made more equitable, workshop held at the 2020 Researcher avoiding a situation in which the new model would simply to Reader Conference, at which the shift the barrier from one place to another. Crucially, a research data formed the basis for debate over how to make an Open Access communication process based on Open Access to all outputs publishing system more equitable. should not be less inclusive than the current model.

Laying the Foundations: paywall. As of March 2020, this access for the next decade or so. Indeed, Ensuring Equality of Access encompassed up to 23,500 research the agenda recognizes that access journals (including nearly 10,000 to information is not an outcome to Research Information Open Access titles), 80,000 ebooks of development but a catalyst for The Research4Life initiative has and 120 other digital resources it; ensuring barrier-free access endeavored to close the knowledge available to over 10,000 registered to research through Open Access gap between the industrialized institutions in eligible countries. publication models or initiatives like North and Lower- and Middle- Research4Life’s eligibility criteria are Research4Life is a non-negotiable Income Countries (LMICs) since based upon Gross National Income requirement for the attainment of it was first launched in 2002 as a per capita, and countries are divided the Goals. partnership between the World into Group A (free access) and Group Despite the efforts of Research4Life Health Organization (WHO) and B (low cost access) on this basis. and similar initiatives, however, the a small group of medical research Some 125 countries are included in contribution made by researchers in its publishers. The partnership now the program. eligible countries as authors, editors includes five United Nations (UN) Access to this huge collection of and peer reviewers remains low, Entities (WHO, Food and Agriculture information enables researchers in and the number of articles authored Organization of the United Nations LMICs to stay up-to-date with the by researchers in Research4Life (FAO); United Nations Environment latest developments in international countries as a percentage of the Program (UNEP); World Intellectual science and to become familiar total corpus seems to have increased Property Organization (WIPO); and with the standards required for only very modestly over the past International Labour Organization publication. The need for access ten years (see ‘Establishing a (ILO), some 175 scholarly publishers, to, and participation in, knowledge baseline’ below). Clearly, there is a Yale and Cornell Universities and production and dissemination is persistent inequity and imbalance, other parties. It provides free or at the core of the United Nations’ which is proving challenging to very low-cost access to research Sustainable Development Goals resolve, despite increased access to publications and online resources, (SDGs), which are expected to shape research knowledge. As the research many of which would otherwise the global agenda on economic, social communication system evolves (albeit be locked behind a subscription and environmental development gradually) towards universal Open

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Figure 1: World map highlighting countries eligible for the Research4Life programme

Access, there are no guarantees that poverty, protect human rights, reduce this disparity will naturally disappear child mortality, promote gender or even diminish, unless some positive equality, improve crop productivity action is taken to remove some of the and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, obstacles inherent in current Open malaria, COVID-19 and other diseases. Access business models (see ‘Leveling the Playing Field’ below). The outputs from this research must be communicated effectively to have any impact, and appropriate systems Influence of the of quality control and validation UN’s Sustainable must be applied to ensure they are Development Goals reliable and trustworthy. Again, this effort must be inclusive and involve This lack of inclusion and diversity researchers, practitioners, policy in the research communication makers and communicators from process should be a concern to us all, LMICs who can create and nurture especially with so many stakeholders local capabilities, peer networks and in the sector now aligning their own communications infrastructure. strategies and objectives with the goals and targets defined in the SDGs (Purcell, Henriksen, & Spengler, 2019); (Warden, 2017). Delivery on these objectives will likely require a recalibration of research to balance work on new discoveries with the application of existing and new knowledge for innovations to (among other things) eliminate extreme

3 Leveling the Playing Open Access Business Models Field for Authors

There are many definitions of Open Access, and different business In order to identify ways to improve the models are applied to support the costs of publication. This figure, taken inclusivity and equity of the research from the 2018 STM Report, (Johnson, Watkinson, & Mabe, 2018) usefully communication ecosystem, first we illustrates the range of models currently employed across the scholarly should characterize and quantify the and professional publishing sector: size of the challenge and identify the main obstacles facing researchers in LMICs when it comes to making their No Subscription Subscription work openly and freely accessible alongside that of their peers in more Article advantaged countries. Publication Gold APC Gold Hybrid There is no simple (or single) reason Charge for the current imbalance; lack of funding is at the top of the list, but many countries also have poorly No Article Gold no APC developed national research programs Publication (also referred to as Subscription subsidised, “Platinum” and a lack of cohesion between Charge and Diamond OA”) research and policy-making, as well as underdeveloped publishing sectors. Overview of Open Access business models Others are emerging from decades of conflict and have lost skills and experience to other countries or regions through displacement or Without a doubt, the lack of access to funding and budgets for paying economic necessity. Article Publication Charges (APCs) is a major obstacle for many researchers in LMICs wishing to publish Open Access research. Although most international publishers offer fee waivers to authors in Research4Life How can we Collaborate to countries (and others), lack of awareness of such policies and a lack of Support the Transition to consistency in their application can, cause confusion and hinder take-up Open Access in LMICs? of Open Access publishing options (Research4Life, 2013). Further, as Open Access scales in volume, it is unclear whether the waivers that publishers At the Researcher to Reader offer could be sustained at the same levels. Evidence cited in this report Conference in February 2020, a (see Figure 4 in ‘Uptake of Open Access publishing’ below) indicates that workshop involving stakeholders from subscription journals remain the most common choice for many authors across the community (including in LMICs. There is emerging evidence elsewhere that those authors can from some Research4Life countries) often end up paying APCs even when they are eligible for a discount or examined this challenge and identified total waiver (Nobes & Harris, 2019). a number of practical steps which publishers, among others, can take As more journals make the transition to an Open Access business model, to avoid putting obstacles in the path will a new obstacle – an inability to publish rather than to read – simply toward universal Open Access. The exacerbate this lack of representation from LMICs in the literature? A outcomes and recommendations from system that requires payment from the author, or the author’s institution, this workshop, including data and is likely to be unsustainable for impoverished regions or disciplines, and findings used to ground and prompt future inclusion may require a combination of commercial and non- the discussion, are presented in this commercial platforms and publications with the support of both private report, along with some thoughts and public sector players. on how Research4Life can leverage its status as a global non-profit partnership to support researchers in their quest to communicate the outputs of their research.

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Establishing a Baseline Growth in Scholarly Output from Research4Life Countries Measuring growth In considering the transition to Open Access among LMICs, it is important Notably, the growth in scholarly output In this report, we tend to report that we understand the current levels is increasing — with stronger growth in growth using the Compound of uptake of this form of scholarly more recent years. The highest year over Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). publication. To do so, we looked at year growth was between 2017 and 2018, This is the mean annual growth publications indexed in Scopus where when it reached 16%. And the growth in rate over a period of more there was at least one author affiliated the last five years is stronger than that of than one year. It measures the with a Research4Life country. In 2018, the full ten: 11.9% CAGR 2014–18. change between the first and we counted 154 thousand publications final year, accounting for growth (Figure 2), representing 5.5% of the What’s driving this growth? We and any volatility in growth. In world’s total output in the same year considered a few drivers, including contrast, year on year growth — an increase from 3.1% in 2009. increases in the number of active rates are simple measure of the Compared to ten years prior, there researchers, the average publication growth between one year and has been growth in terms of absolute rate per researcher, and growth in the following. output, which rose by 10.5% per year the topics in which these researchers (Compound Annual Growth Rate, are publishing. In the main, the 2009–18). This growth compares very publication rate – the average number favorably to the global research output of publications per author – has with Research4Life countries has been growth (3.6% CAGR, 2009–18), though remained steady across the ten-year growing, as indicated by the total count the base for the growth is significantly period. And there was a little more of authors. In fact, the number of lower. Despite the barriers around growth in the social sciences than in authors affiliated with these countries access to published research then, other disciplines, but that remains a more than doubled between 2014 and authors from Research4Life countries small share of the total output and so 2018 and so it appears to be this that are demonstrating growth in volume is not a key driver. However, the overall is driving the increase in volume of of output. unique number of researchers affiliated scholarly publications.

Growth in publication output 2009–18 (CAGR) . % 154.0

132.6

117.3 103.2 98.3 92.2 84.8 76.9 68.8 62.9 Count of publications with minimum 1 author aliated with a Research4Life country (thousands)

Publication year

Figure 2: Count of publications with at least one author from a Research4Life country. Source: Scopus. Full counting on articles, reviews, conference papers and short surveys; deduplicated so that publications with more than one author from a Research4Life country are counted only once.

5 Every Country has a Story in research capacity loss and departure Coverage of Research4Life publications of researchers (Bifano, 2014). As with almost any large cohort, To measure the participation of authors from there are variations within the data Iraq demonstrates the highest growth Research4Life countries, we used Scopus.com, at a more granular level, and we can in publications between 2009 and which indexes more than 22,800 journals. identify differing stories within the 2018, largely driven by an increased This gives very broad coverage of scholarly Research4Life eligible countries when capacity for research following the publications from around the world (almost we consider scholarly output volume end of trade sanctions in 2003 (Wired, 80 million publications), but a notable and growth (Figure 3). 2013). And Vietnam has made the limitation of the results in this report is that development of education, training, some journals of local importance may not be Many of the Research4Life countries science and technology a national covered. For example, among the criteria for published a relatively low volume priority since at least 2012 (Thanh Tien, indexation, Scopus requires that publication of publications in 2018: just under 2016) – so we can suppose that this titles and abstracts are written in English 100 of the countries published fewer effort may be behind that country’s (the full publication may be written in any than 1,000 publications. However, growing research output. language); this is likely to exclude some local three countries alone accounted for language journals and low- and middle- just over 30% of the total output – income countries may be disproportionately namely: Egypt, Pakistan and Ukraine. Uptake of Open affected. The existing coverage is, nevertheless, Venezuela is the only country to Access Publishing understood to demonstrate authors from demonstrate negative growth in output Research4Life countries’ contribution to the over the ten years, but political and Data from Scopus and Unpaywall international scholarly literature. economic upheaval in the country’s demonstrates that Open Access recent history is known to have resulted publishing is growing in popularity

% Iraq

Sierra Leone

% Rwanda Ethiopia Vietnam Myanmar Ghana Albania % Morocco Zimbabwe Pakistan Sri Lanka Bangladesh Algeria Egypt Georgia % Jordan Nigeria Kenya R4L country average Bosnia and Herzegovina Tunisia growth (CAGR): 10.5% Ukraine Armenia Azerbaijan Serbia % Publication Count Growth (CAGR) Libya Belarus Republic of Moldova Uzbekistan % Jamaica , , , , ,

% Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Count of publications,

Figure 3: Count and growth of publications with at least one author from each Research4Life country. Chart displays countries with at least 100 publications in 2018. Source: Scopus. Full counting on articles, reviews, conference papers and short surveys; deduplicated so that publications with more than one author from a Research4Life country are counted only once.

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among authors from Research4Life very low base) is hybrid uptake — that of the availability of APC waivers, countries, but the majority of is, Gold APC Open Access in otherwise and inconsistent information and publications are still published under subscription-based journals. policies on waivers among publishers, a subscription model (75% in 2018) making it difficult to understand the either in subscription-only journals These findings jibe well with those seen options. We also know that the level of or in those that offer a choice of across a wider research community motivation to publish research under subscription or Open Access (Figure 4). both in terms of the shares and the an Open Access business model is often growth trends: the subscription low among authors — and not just Of those publications published in model is still the preferred option for those in Research4Life countries (Shih, Open Access, the Gold APC model publishing authors, with the Gold 2017). And, of course, not all of the — in which authors would typically APC model the growing favorite research publications that we captured be asked to pay an article publishing among the Open Access options that from Research4Life authors would have charge (APC) to enable immediate we studied. However, the share of been eligible for waiver of the APC, for open access upon publishing — is hybrid uptake is a little lower among example, if waivers are conditional on the most popular (16% in 2018). Research4Life authors. the corresponding author being from a Subsidized Open Access plays a part Research4Life country. too – these are journals for which the In the Researcher to Reader costs of publication are subsidized by conference workshop, the group another body, perhaps an institution discussed the potential reasons or society, associated with the journal, behind these results. It’s likely that meaning there is no APC for the there are a number of reasons, author. The least popular model among them a lack of funding, (though growing the fastest from a perhaps a lack of understanding

% % % % % % % % % % % Subsciption % % % % % % % Hybrid uptake % % % % % % % % Gold % % % % Subsidised

% % % % % % % % % % Proportion of publications

Publication year

Figure 4: Share of publications with minimum one author from each Research4Life country by Open Access model. Source: Scopus and Unpaywall data for publication-level Open Access model. Full counting on articles, reviews, conference papers and short surveys; deduplicated so that publications with more than one author from a Research4Life country are counted only once.

7 A Preference for The results show us that there is no to certain fields of research, so we ‘International’ Journals particular preference among our chose to look at bioRxiv, the preprint cohort for publishing in the same server for biology. We found that, of Another way to consider how authors journals where other Research4Life the 10,615 preprints posted to bioRxiv from Research4Life countries are authors publish, and that in fact, the during 2017 which we captured, 226 sharing their research is to look at preference is moving increasingly in had at least one author affiliated the journals in which they publish. the opposite direction. The threshold with a Research4Life country. That More specifically, the question we of 60% is somewhat arbitrary, represents 2.1% of the year’s total considered as whether the journals but the story doesn’t change if output (Figure 6). in which Research4Life authors we shift that either up or down a publish tend to be populated with little: consistently, the preference As an imperfect but useful comparison, publications from other Research4Life for publishing in journals where 4.1% of journal articles in Scopus’s authors. For each journal in which a Research4Life authors predominate is biology subject area have at least one Research4Life author published, we low and declining over time. author affiliated with a Research4Life identified the share of publications country (Figure 6). So we might with at least one author who is conclude that Research4Life authors affiliated with a Research4Life country Alternative Routes are underrepresented in this form of across the journal as a whole. Using to Openness open scholarly communication. 60% as a minimum threshold, we Posting preprints offers another then looked at what proportion of route to openness. Preprint servers all publications with a Research4Life are popping up regularly now, but author appeared in this subset of use of them is somewhat limited journals (Figure 5)

% % % % % % % % % % Articles in journals in which ≥ % of publications are from R4L authors (below 60% threshold)

Articles in journals in which < % of publications are from R4L authors (above 60% threshold)

% % % % % % % % % % Proportion of publications

Publication year

Figure 5: Share of publications in journals with more and less than 60% of publications from R4L authors. Source: Scopus. Full counting on articles, reviews, conference papers and short surveys; deduplicated so that publications with more than one author from a Research4Life country are counted only once.

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Practical ways to Support

Researchers in LMICs .% The findings from this analysis demonstrate that there is a limited but gradually growing appetite for Open Access publishing among .% authors from LMICs, a strong and growing preference for international journals, and (perhaps) relatively little participation in preprinting. An equitable transition towards Open Proportion of R4L outputs Access for LMIC-based researchers biology publications biology preprint (bioRxiv) needs support from all within the research community. Many stakeholder groups are working hard to develop sustainable models Figure 6: Share of publications in Scopus’s biology subject category published in 2017 that will achieve the goal of 100% compared with the share of bioRxiv preprints posted in 2017 with at least one author Open Access, recognizing that there affiliated to a Research4Life country. Source: bioRxiv and Scopus. Full counting on articles, is unlikely to be a “one size fits reviews, conference papers and short surveys; deduplicated so that publications with more all” solution, given widely variable than one author from a Research4Life country are counted only once. funding levels, geography, incentives and discipline. Another limitation is that each type of stakeholder, from research funder to individual researcher, can only influence a certain aspect of the research and for several years to come and may Access by combining the costs of dissemination cycle. unwittingly end up preventing much reading with the costs of publishing in important research from reaching its their journals in the expectation that At the Researcher to Reader intended audience. publishing costs will gradually replace conference workshop, a number reading costs. In instances where the of practical options were identified In the short term, authors would purchasing consortium is already as ways of providing support to benefit from waiver information spending a considerable amount to researchers in LMICs for achieving being more accessible. Policies purchase subscriptions to journals, their Open Access publishing should be made available more clearly this transformation can be modeled ambitions, with a focus on actions and conspicuously on journal and and tested. However, in cases where that can be taken by publishers publisher websites. access to journals is provided at very unilaterally, or preferably, collectively. low cost or free through initiatives For example, could all publishers This is not an exhaustive list, but like Research4Life, there are no charging APCs agree to waive such the following actions could help to existing budgets to transition, so this charges automatically for anyone from ensure that researchers in less well- model needs rethinking. Pilot studies a Research4Life registered institution? funded regions can achieve greater are exploring how such an approach If differentiation between Group A and levels of exposure and equality could be adapted for library consortia Group B countries is required, could among their published peers. in LMICs (Information Power, 2020). the former automatically receive a 100% Greater Consistency and Transparency waiver and the latter a 75% waiver? Greater Involvement of Researchers around APC Waivers from LMICs in Editorial Boards and Monitor Pilot Projects to Model a Peer Review systems One relatively simple solution is Transition to Open Access for to make publisher policies on APC LMIC institutions A September 2018 report (Publons, waivers more consistent and more 2018) by Publons and Clarivate transparent. Even though this Many publishers have announced Analytics paints a similar picture business model may turn out to be an large “read and publish” deals with of participation in the peer review interim step on the road to universal major academic library consortia, process. Since journal editors Open Access, it is likely to persist smoothing the transition to Open

9 tend to be based in developed and from donors and other benefactors. Support for the Publication of Research industrialized countries, requests Here again, joint ventures like relevant to the Sustainable Development to review often naturally exclude Research4Life and non-profits like Goals (SDG) authors and potential reviewers INASP can help to provide channels from countries outside of their usual to the end-user community in lower- A 2019 report (Clarivate Analytics, network. Fewer invitations to review and middle-income countries, but 2019) from Clarivate Analytics confirms means fewer opportunities to see they will continue to depend on a redirection of research towards the latest research trends, to learn support, both financial and in-kind, the UN’s shared goals, revealing what journals are looking for, to build from participating publishers and evidence from the Web of Science professional networks and to develop other donors. that, increasingly, research programs critical skills. are being influenced directly by Encourage and Showcase Collaboration specific SDG targets and goals, not Publishers could examine their between the Industrialized Regions just reflecting general global trends. journal editorial boards and their peer and LMICs Publishers would do well to study the reviewer databases to ensure that they SDG agenda to identify topics that are diverse and reflect areas of future Institutions might consider existing are likely to increase in priority and growth, not just the status quo. They networks that could be leveraged research funding over the coming may have to accept that researchers to ease the path to more inclusive decade and to consider what titles from LMICs may face a steeper research collaborations, challenging and platforms might be appropriate learning curve than other reviewers existing preconceptions and drawing for optimal dissemination of the and invest in building their capacity attention to the “filter bubbles” outputs of this research. as contributors as well as readers. we all subconsciously inhabit. Conference-planning committees Leverage Research4Life’s status as a Better Capacity Building Resources should proactively seek speakers Global Non-profit Partnership aimed at Authors, Reviewers and and panelists from around the Editors from LMICs globe as part of an expanding Research4Life can support efforts diversity agenda, particularly now made by its publisher partners in many Many publishers and development that virtual conferencing is likely ways, building on its relationships organizations like INASP provide to become the “new normal” in a with stakeholders in all sectors of the training programs and materials post-COVID-19 world. Furthermore, research communication ecosystem. aimed at researchers wanting to all researchers should be mindful of It can, for example, support publishers publish their work in recognized and ensuring that the work they reference by creating an area on its website that peer-reviewed journals. It makes is global, where appropriate. provides an index to publishers’ APC sense for the publishing community And publishers can share data waiver policies addressing the problem to collaborate on these efforts, from their own submissions and described above. Researchers from rather than providing journal- or publications regarding activity among registered user institutions then can be publisher- specific training collateral; Research4Life authors, especially directed to these pages to identify the these skills are pre-competitive and around Open Access uptake, to institutions and publications from and transferable. Running such programs promote understanding about the for which waivers are available, so they on a large scale and at regular participation of authors from LMICs in are not discouraged from submitting to intervals requires financial support the research communication process. their Open Access journal of choice.

Conclusion

Conscious efforts like these to develop the vibrancy and capability of the research community in Research4Life countries will pay dividends in the long term, ensuring that the growing cohort of scientists from LMICs are active participants in shaping the knowledge generation and transfer mechanisms that will underpin the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Such efforts must be collaborative and collective in order to achieve maximum impact at scale.

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Data Sources & Methodology

Using Scopus, publications with at least one author Unpaywall data, which identifies the Open Access model affiliated with a Research4Life country were identified. at the article level. Further, bioRxiv data was captured for Publications were limited to those published between 2017, and the affiliated country was identified for authors 2009 and 2018 and the document types that are typically using a combination of affiliation information and email peer reviewed: articles, reviews, conference proceedings, address domains. For the comparison to biology journal short surveys and data papers. Open Access status was articles, we used the Scopus publication set, limited to captured using known journal business models with only those in the biology subject area.

References

Bifano, C. (2014, June 12). Capacity building: Architects of South toward delivering the sustainable development goals: “Living American science. Nature, 510, 209-212. doi:10.1038/510209a labs” for sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 20(8), 1343-1357. Clarivate Analytics. (2019). Navigating the Structure of Research on Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved May 29, 2020, Research4Life. (2013). Beyond the 2015 Horizon: Research4Life’s from https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/campaigns/ Current Strategic Plan. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https:// sustainable-development-goals/ www.research4life.org/wp-content/uploads/promotions/ StrategyR4L2012.pdf Information Power. (2020). Project to explore open access agreements between society publishers and library consortia in Research4Life. (2020). Eligibility for access to Research4Life. developing and transition economy countries. Retrieved May 29, Retrieved May 29, 2020, from Research4Life.org: https://www. 2020, from Information Power: https://www.informationpower. research4life.org/access/eligibility/ co.uk/project-to-explore-open-access-agreements-between- society-publishers-and-library-consortia-in-developing-and- Shih, I. (2017, May 22). Young researchers preach open transition-economy-countries/ access, yet many don’t practice. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from Nature Index: https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/ Johnson, R., Watkinson, A., & Mabe, M. (2018). The STM Report: young-researchers-preach-open-access-yet-many-dont-practice An overview of scientific and scholarly publishing. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://www.stm-assoc.org/2018_10_04_STM_ Thanh Tien, H. (2016). Vietnamese academic’s research capacity Report_2018.pdf in tertiary contexts. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://pdfs. semanticscholar.org/7c47/f741e85b491fe2d4880aa916c89eabd5e05f.pdf Nobes, A., & Harris, S. (2019). Open Access in low-and middle- income countries; attitudes and experiences of researchers. Warden, R. (2017, September 21). SDGs - Universities are moving Emerald Open Research, 1(17). doi: doi.org/10.35241/ from what to do to how. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from University emeraldopenres.13325.1 World News: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post. php?story=20170921171919144 Publons. (2018). 2018 Global State of Peer Review. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from https://publons.com/static/Publons-Global-State- Wired. (2013, October 18). The secret behind Iraq’s scientific Of-Peer-Review-2018.pdf resurgence. Retrieved May 29, 2020, from Wired: https://www. wired.com/2013/10/the-secret-behind-iraqs-scientific-resurgence/ Purcell, W. M., Henriksen, H., & Spengler, J. D. (2019). Universities as the engine of transformational sustainability

11 About the Authors

Andrea Powell Rob Johnson Rachel Herbert

Andrea Powell has acted as the Publisher Rob Johnson is the founder and director Rachel Herbert is a Senior Research Coordinator for Research4Life since of Research Consulting, a mission-driven Evaluation Manager at Elsevier. She has November 2018. Prior to this, she spent business which works to improve the worked in scholarly publishing for over 26 years with CABI, where her most effectiveness and impact of research and 10 years and has an active interest in the recent role was Chief Information Officer scholarly communication. Rob began evaluation of research, particularly through overseeing CABI’s Knowledge Business his career with KPMG, the international the lens of gender. Her work focuses on and global IT operation. While at CABI professional services firm, and spent four developing analytical approaches to derive Andrea served on the Council of ALPSP years as Head of Research Operations at the insights about the world of research using and on the Board of STM. Andrea is also University of Nottingham. Since founding bibliometric and scientometric tools. an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes Research Consulting in early 2013 he has University and a Non-Executive Director led more than 50 studies on the transition for the Pharmaceutical Press. to open access and open research data, acting as an independent, trusted advisor for research funders, academic institutions, publishers and learned societies in the UK, Europe and worldwide.

How to cite: Powell A., Johnson R., & Herbert R. (2020). Achieving an Equitable Transition to Open Access for Researchers in Lower and Middle-Income Countries. ICSR Perspectives https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3624782

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