How Equitable Is It?

a draft framework for assessing scholarly communication models on the axis of equity

(beta version, 18th September 2024)

Developed by the “Beyond article-based charges” working group, which is convened by cOAlition S, Jisc and PLOS.

📝Introduction

Since September 2023, cOAlition S, in partnership with Jisc and PLOS, have been working with a multi-stakeholder working group, comprising librarians, library consortia representatives, funders and publishers. The Group’s objectives, detailed in our original problem statement, centred around a desire to move away from inequitable article-based models and arrangements to facilitate more equitable participation in knowledge sharing.

To this end, the Group have developed a framework, which will enable stakeholders (institutions, libraries, consortia, funders and publishers) to assess scholarly communication models and arrangements on the axis of equity and use this to steer either investment or scholarly communication model-development decisions.

Presented as an online tool – and strongly inspired by the “How Open Is It?” guide developed by SPARC, PLOS and OASPA – the “How Equitable Is It? framework will enable:

● those who fund or invest in publishing services – primarily institutions, library consortia and funders – to determine to what extent scholarly communication models and arrangements facilitate (or restrict) equitable participation in knowledge sharing; and

● those who seek funding for their publishing services – publishers and other providers – to assess whether the scholarly communication models and arrangements they offer facilitate (or restrict) equitable participation in scholarship.

Note that this framework is primarily concerned with charging models and how these relate to equitable participation in scholarship. For this reason, it references funding flows to speak to the investments made and received.