OER Contributor-Pay Based Funding Model

Description

"Adopted by the Public Library of Science, the `PLoS Open Access Model: One Time Author-Side Payments' (Doyle, 2005) consists of a mechanism whereby contributors pay for the cost of maintaining the contribution, and where the provider thereafter makes the contribution available for free. Interestingly, this is a model that has earned some support from publishers, particularly in view of foundations, such as the Wellcome Trust, that have begun to require that materials funded be freely available. Thus, in the 'open choice option' offered by publishers, "research articles and supporting documentation will be made freely available online to view immediately upon publication. The charges for this process will be met by funding bodies, such as the Wellcome Trust - who calculate it will represent approximately 1% of their annual spend." (Wellcome Trust, 2006) (http://www.downes.ca/files/FreeLearning.pdf)