The New York Times reports that the Wellcome Trust, the 2nd largest private funder of scientific research worldwide, may keep back parts of grant payments until they make their research results freely available. According to the Times
“One option reportedly under consideration is to withhold the last installment of a grant until the research is publicly available; another option would be to make grant renewal contingent on open access publication.
The open access movement arose in response to the high subscription fees for scientific journals, which in some cases can amount to thousands of dollars a year. Initiated by scientists, the movement has grown rapidly in recent years, partly because of support from university librarians who saw their acquisitions budget swallowed up by rising subscription costs.”
