The Academy of Social Sciences welcomes the Finch report's extensive acknowledgement that learned societies contribute significantly to developing scholarly endeavour and public engagement. They are a critical part of the UK research environment, and it is vital that they do not suffer unintended damage as a result of an acceleration towards open access.
Many societies are engaged in significant journal publishing on a not-for-profit basis. This income supports their subject disciplines. Undermining this without replacing it with a sustainable open-access publishing model will have significant negative consequences for our research ecology. It is critical that the government gives due consideration to the impact of open access on learned societies.
Cary Cooper, Chair of council, Academy of Social Sciences