BCLA response to draft CIHR policy

The British Columbia Library Association response to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research consultation on theDraft Policy on Access to Research Outputs has been posted, and is available for download.

Highlights: BCLA congratulates CIHR for developing a draft policy that is considered exemplary, a role model for other funding agencies.

"This draft policy will make research funded by Canadian taxpayers readily available to many more Canadians, as well as to researchers around the world. In a province like British Columbia, this will particularly make a difference to students, faculty, high school students, and health care professionals outside of the major research centres. This policy is considered exemplary by open access advocates, for good reason. The support for open access to research data is particularly noteworthy. This is an area where Canada has an opportunity to become a world leader, advancing research in the medical arena more quickly for the benefit of all, and also advancing Canadian economic interests in the knowledge economy.

Several particular strengths of the policy we would like to highlight are the requirement to deposit peer-reviewed research articles immediately on publication, the encouragement to retroactively archive important articles, and the indication that a researcher’s track record in providing access will be considered with future grant applications."

This post reflects my personal opinion only and does not represent the opinions or policy of the BC Electronic Library Network or the Simon Fraser University Library.