The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) were pleased to convene an invitation-only forum of open access stakeholders on October 19 and 20 in Washington, DC. The forum aimed to catalyze a dialogue about opportunities for philanthropic and other funders to make the research they support more openly available to read, reuse, and build upon.
Representatives from approximately 50 organizations, including the Gates Foundation, the American Heart Association, the Health Research Alliance, and RCUK, participated in the forum. The meeting offered unique opportunity for funders of research and other research stakeholders to share experiences, concerns, strategies, and questions regarding open access. By bringing together organizations at various stages in the consideration, development, and implementation of open access policies, we believe the forum is a key initial step toward more firmly establishing a “community of practice”.
