Open access: making publicly funded research work free for all

摘要

'Open access' is a new approach to publishing designed to make research papers funded by the public sector free for everyone to read. ICE Publishing's journals editorial manager Ben Ramster explains how it works and what it means for civil engineers. 'Open access' is based on the belief that publicly funded research outputs should be free to the public. Backers include the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, which in 2011 stated that open access offers, 'significant social and economic benefits by spreading knowledge'(BIS, 2011: p. 76).