Policy Series

Open Access and the Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences Speakers: Professor Keith Jeffery, School of History and Anthropology, Queens University Belfast Professor Ronan McNulty, School of Physics, University College Dublin Dr Kevin Lalor, School of Social Sciences and Law, Dublin Institute of Technology Professor Stefan Decker, Digital Enterprise Research Institute, National University of Ireland Galway The Royal Irish Academy and the Irish Research Council held a forum on Open Access on May 2, 2013. Representatives from Irish researchers, public research funders, publishers and industry met in the Royal Irish Academy to discuss the implications of rolling out Open Access to all publicly funded research in Ireland, including making research freely accessible without charge on the internet. Speakers at the Forum considered how Open Access can support the best research to reach not only the best scientists but also a wider public audience. They considered whether and how Open Access can encourage great