Bonn Declaration on Open Access

Bonn Declaration on Open Access
Name	Bonn Declaration on Open Access
Date	2003
Location	Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia
Adopted by	Max Planck Society, German Research Foundation, European Commission
Language	English

Bonn Declaration on Open Access The Bonn Declaration on Open Access was a 2003 statement endorsing open access to scholarly literature and research outputs, emerging from a meeting of European research organizations in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. It set out principles and recommendations intended to influence policy among institutions such as the European Commission, Max Planck Society, and national funding bodies like the German Research Foundation. The declaration interfaced with contemporaneous initiatives including the Budapest Open Access Initiative, Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing, and discussions at the World Summit on the Information Society.

Background

The Declaration grew from dialogues among stakeholders including the Max Planck Society, the German Research Foundation, representatives of the European Commission, and participants connected to the Wellcome Trust and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. It was shaped amid prior efforts such as the Budapest Open Access Initiative and the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, and during policy debates involving the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Research Area agenda, and national ministries like the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany). Influential institutions and figures present at or associated with the discussions included the Scripps Research Institute, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, and leaders from the Royal Society and the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

Adoption and Signatories

Signatories encompassed major research organizations and funding agencies such as the Max Planck Society, the German Research Foundation, the European Commission delegates, and academic institutions linked to the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Bonn. Other endorsers were connected to the Wellcome Trust, the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, and national academies like the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Austrian Science Fund. Representatives from libraries and infrastructure projects such as the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft-backed consortia, the European Science Foundation, and the Open Archives Initiative community also participated.

Objectives and Principles

The Declaration articulated objectives resonant with the Budapest Open Access Initiative and the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, calling for widespread dissemination of peer-reviewed literature, the development of interoperable repositories in the spirit of the Open Archives Initiative, and policy frameworks akin to mandates later adopted by bodies like the Wellcome Trust and the European Research Council. Core principles referenced interoperability standards from the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting and governance models similar to those in the Max Planck Society publication policies. It emphasized alignment with research assessment practices found at institutions such as the Humboldt University of Berlin and funding requirements modeled by the German Research Foundation.

Implementation and Impact

Implementation involved institutions launching or expanding institutional repositories, drawing on projects like the Open Archives Initiative and infrastructures associated with the European Research Area. Universities such as the University of Bonn and networks affiliated with the Max Planck Society developed repository platforms interoperable with services from the National Library of Medicine and aggregation initiatives influenced by the Directory of Open Access Journals. The Declaration influenced policy formulations at the European Commission and informed mandates later issued by the Wellcome Trust, the European Research Council, and national funders including the Austrian Science Fund and the Swedish Research Council.

Reactions and Criticism

Responses ranged from endorsement by research organizations like the Royal Society and the Max Planck Society to critique from commercial publishers including entities within the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers and publishers aligned with the STM (Professional Association for Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers). Critics raised concerns echoed in debates involving the Association of American Publishers, the Publishing Research Consortium, and legal scholars at institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition about rights management, sustainability models resembling those discussed by the Wellcome Trust, and impacts on subscription models defended by publishers like Elsevier and Springer Nature.

Legacy and Influence on Open Access Policy

The Declaration contributed to a policy ecosystem that shaped subsequent mandates by bodies like the European Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and national agencies including the German Research Foundation and the Austrian Science Fund. It intersected with later instruments and frameworks such as Plan S, the Horizon 2020 open access requirements, and repository interoperability standards promoted by the Open Archives Initiative and the Directory of Open Access Journals. Its influence is traceable in institutional policies at the Max Planck Society, the University of Bonn, and consortium initiatives within the European Research Area, as well as in ongoing debates involving the European Commission, the World Health Organization, and funders like the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Category:Open access