Blog Celebrating Open Knowledge: the Alliance at International Open Access Week 2024
October 21-27 marks the 17th International Open Access Week: a global event dedicated to advancing the practice of open knowledge sharing.
Since its inception in 2007, International Open Access Week has grown significantly, inspiring events worldwide that champion the principles of accessibility and transparency in research.
For the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, this week offers a platform to spotlight the benefits of open knowledge and show how our commitment to open-data policies shapes our everyday work.
Driving Open Access Forward: a decade of commitment
The Alliance’s dedication to open access began with the CGIAR's Open Access and Data Management Policy in 2013, which was updated in 2021 to align with the CGIAR Open and FAIR Data Assets Policy. These policies have been instrumental in making our research more visible, accessible, and impactful globally.
Since the establishment of the Alliance in 2019, we have seen a steady increase in the open access rate of our knowledge products, including data, rising from 90% in 2020 to more than 94% in 2024. This is a significant achievement, especially considering that certain products face challenges due to third-party rights, intellectual property concerns, privacy issues, and security restrictions.
Credit: International Open Access Week
Making research more accessible: from pilot project to practice
In 2021, during International Open Access Week, we presented the results of a pilot project exploring the feasibility of making pre-print (Author's Original Manuscript - AOM) and post-print (Author’s Accepted Manuscript – AAM) versions of articles from 2020 available on CGSpace (our institutional repository). Since then, the project has grown, and delivered promising results.
In 2023, 1,700 research outputs were uploaded onto CGSpace, including 317 journal articles. Of these, 49 journal articles with limited access were reviewed. In 2024, our scientists provided 21 pre- or post-print versions of their restricted-access journal articles, which were then uploaded onto CGSpace following the publisher's self-archiving policy. As a result, the open access rate for journal articles on CGSpace rose from 84.54% to 91.16%.
Credit: International Open Access Week
Boosting visibility and impact
Sharing pre- or post-print versions of journal articles led to a significant increase in page views, downloads, and citations for the final published papers. Although the observed increase in citations is modest, early analysis suggests that greater accessibility can indeed amplify the reach of our research.
For example, an article uploaded in January 2023 received limited visibility until its post-print version was made available in July 2024. In just two months, page views increased from 62 to 86,it received its first 12 downloads, and it has been cited 11 times. While these figures are early indicators, they underscore the potential of open access to enhance research impact.
How to access and share your accepted manuscripts
Keep a copy of your post-print (Author’s Accepted Manuscript) when submitting your article to a journal. Most journals allow authors to download their AAM once the paper is accepted, though retention policies vary. If you cannot locate your AAM, you can contact the journal for support (EIFL Guideline for Authors, July 2022).
Do not forget to keep a copy of the pre-print version as well, (Author's Original Manuscript). Many publishers restrict the use of post-prints or impose embargoes from 12 to 36 months, making pre-print sharing a valuable option for open access.
International Open Access Week is a reminder that by sharing our work openly, we help level the playing field for readers and authors alike. Let’s collaborate to increase the visibility and readiness of our research and optimize equity for readers and authors!
