The Knowledge Equity Network and the University of Leeds, together with a global consortium of partners, have announced the release of a new report, Factors influencing the adoption of open access to longform publications in regional and national contexts, examining the conditions needed to accelerate Open Access (OA) for longform scholarly publications.
This collaborative initiative brought together institutions and organisations spanning four continents, including Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines), the University of Auckland (New Zealand), Copim (UK), Universität Hamburg (Germany), Universidad Nacional del Sur (Argentina), the University of Nairobi (Kenya), the University of Pretoria (South Africa), the University of Salford (UK), Singapore Management University (Singapore), Université de Sousse (Tunisia), VU Amsterdam (Netherlands), and White Rose University Press (UK); each contributing local insight, evidence, and a shared commitment to more equitable knowledge exchange.
Grounded in evidence gathered through a literature review, interviews, focus groups, data collection, and modelling, the report presents a consistent picture across regions: longform OA is widely valued within the Higher Education sector as a public good, yet it remains on the margins of current systems. Progress toward Open Access for longform publications has been steady but slow, shaped more by collective policy, funding, and library leadership than by individual academic or disciplinary demand.
The partners’ shared findings highlight common challenges, including gaps in global data and differing national definitions of scholarly books, funding constraints and entrenched academic reward structures that favour traditional publishing routes. Yet the report is clear that meaningful progress is achievable when stakeholders work together across institutions and borders.
The report, authored by Information Power, outlines practical and scalable pathways toward a more inclusive and sustainable future for longform scholarship. Its recommendations call on libraries, funders, and academic communities to continue working collectively to embed OA as a central part of scholarly communication.