Designing a Preparedness Model for the Future of Open Scholarship (360G-Wellcome-221683_Z_20_Z)

Over the next 12-18 months, leading structures relied on to conduct, publish and disseminate scholarly research are at risk of collapse. One leading use case to illustrate the current reality as it unfolds, and how it will affect scholarly research communications is the impact on university and scholar led presses, and the risks that presents to the creation of scholarly monographs. University presses are collectively facing unprecedented deficits and sales shortfalls for print books this year. Budget constraints at the library level may well directly affect the sale of scholarly monographs as well as subsidies and subventions. To address this potential threat to scholarship, we are launching a cross-institutional research effort to address pending infrastructure consolidation and collapse across the ecosystem, identifying the opportunities, leverage points, costs and approaches that could be employed. The project sets out to deliver the following: - Cost-benefit analyses to enable faster, more informed decision making in support of open scholarship; - Criteria for assessing solutions in service of the academy; - Actionable recommendations and guidance for budget owners; - Actionable recommendations and models for projects to operate sustainably; - Scenario planning for 6, 12, and 18+ months outlooks; - A collective model for stewardship, cost-sharing, and risk pooling.