On April 6th 2011 representatives from institutions in the global SCOAP3 partnership convened to assess the progress of this Open Access initiative.
Large publishers in the field, APS, Elsevier, IOPp, SISSA and Springer, shared their opinions on the SCOAP3 model and their intention to participate in a SCOAP3 tender aiming to convert to Open Access the high-quality peer-reviewed literature in the field, conditional on reassurances concerning the long-term sustainability of SCOAP3. SCOAP3 partners reaffirmed the importance of a mutual understanding with the publishing industry on price reduction of large subscription packages for partner libraries in countries that are part of the initiative. All presentations, transcripts and videos are available on the SCOAP3 web site.
Delegates to the meeting heard statements from countries currently working towards joining SCOAP3 and discussed the opportunities and challenges ahead. The meeting reached consensus to move SCOAP3 towards an operational phase. A first concrete step will be the start of a tendering process, conditional on further countries and partners joining the SCOAP3 consortium. A steering committee, representing the broad cross-section of the SCOAP3 partnership, is being formed to steer the initiative through this and the following phases. A technical working group will assess opportunities for price reduction for partner libraries.