AP Productions | source: AP
The Hague
Scientific research should often be freely available, says Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (Science), who has set up an organization for this. This is called Open Science NL and will manage the 184 million euros that Dijkgraaf had previously saved for this purpose. Together with 15 knowledge institutions, the minister signed a plan to make free access to scientific research the “norm”.
“Often the knowledge behind paywalls or the scientific data is not available,” says Dijkgraaf. According to the minister, if everyone has access, it will lead to faster scientific breakthroughs and innovations and the impact on society will be greater. He also thinks it’s a good idea for researchers to be better monitored in this way.
Open Science NL will become part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The organization is required to finance projects for which there are no funds otherwise.
It is becoming increasingly popular to view Dutch scientific articles for free. In 2016, that percentage was 42 percent and has risen to 82 percent in 2021, according to Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) figures. The agreements have been signed by NWO, UNL and the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centres, among others.
