Open Access Pilot FP7 - rationale

26 February 2010

Open Access Pilot FP7 - why?

Grant agreements signed after August 2008 in the seven areas covered by the pilot contain a special clause 39 requiring grant recipients

- to deposit an electronic copy of the research article resulting from their FP7 project

- in an institutional or subject-based repository at the moment of publication.

The European Commission wants to ensure that the results of the research it funds under the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7) with more than € 50 billion from 2007 – 2013, are disseminated as widely and effectively as possible to guarantee maximum exploitation and impact in the world of researchers and beyond. Open access to research articles helps to increase the impact of the EU's investment in research and development and to avoid wasting time and valuable resources on duplicative research. With access to a wider selection of literature, researchers can build upon this knowledge to further their own work. Small and medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs can also benefit from improved access to the latest research developments to speed up commercialisation and innovation.