The rapid changes in technology that affect the way research, scholarship, teaching, and learning are done, combined with the ever-increasing financial pressures on institutions of higher education and on their students, require collective and global support of the entire scholarly communication infrastructure and for all its participants, moving from the current cost-per-unit pricing model that works for only particular forms and formats of research output and for only particular stages in the communication workflow. It’s only by working together, with participation from all who contribute and from those who benefit, that we can hope to transform the system at scale.

We know change is hard. While the Open Access Network represents a bold rethinking of the economics of OA, the plan for implementation is incremental, taking into consideration the time it will take for stakeholders to transition to their new roles and adjust to the new environment. The long-term change we desire is directly aligned to our stakeholders’ mission and values, that of serving the public good by maximizing access to the knowledge produced at colleges and universities to enhance the lifelong pursuit of education, learning, and research.

We believe that the route to successful adoption of the approach we are advocating is to demonstrate its attractiveness and sustainability through a stepwise implementation process.

To obtain initial seed funding, we established a membership program open to anyone and everyone who wishes td join the Open Access Network and contribute to the initial pilot projects that will demonstrate in practice how the Open Access Network works.

To fund the post-pilot implementation phase, we proposed in our white paper targeting 1,038 institutions concentrated in the United States and Canada, but with representation throughout the globe, resulting in $56,993,479 in annual revenue. If we go by the law of diffusion of innovation, when we are able to convince 167 (or roughly 16% of those 1,038 institutions) to agree to pay the annual fee, we will have reached a tipping point of institutions who believe in the plan. Critical mass, which indicates widespread adoption and ensures that innovation is now self-sustaining, would require 519 to adopt the model in an ongoing manner. Because of the evolving nature of scholarly publishing, the amount of money raised, while important, is not as critical as getting adopters on board in supporting changing the way the system is funded.

It might seem an inappropriate comparison, but let’s look at the evolution of two well-known corporations — Google and Apple. At the turn of the 21st century, Apple was hanging on by a financial thread and Google had just opened their New York office, which consisted of one employee working at a Starbucks on the corner of W. 86th St. and Columbus. Fifteen years later, Apple is the world’s largest company and Google’s New York office holds more that 4,000 employees and a full-sized dessert truck. Seriously. Need we say more?

While the Open Access Network is mission-driven rather than profit-driven, we do have something in common with these highly successful companies. We have a vision that is ambitious; some might even say audacious. We believe that it is possible to build on the excellent work of OA advocates over the last several decades to develop a scholarly communication infrastructure that is open, widely supported, and ever evolving. We realize it won’t happen overnight. But perhaps in as little as 15 years, you will find it hard to remember a time when you couldn’t access the latest research on a topic produced by a scholar or researcher at a college or university.

Our model provides a clear but ever-evolving and expanding roadmap to address concerns about “free riders,” including a campaign in a stepwise but nevertheless assertive way to persuade all tertiary academic institutions to participate financially, raise endowment funds from foundations, accept donations from the public, and otherwise engage all beneficiaries — very much in keeping with the core mission of academic institutions, societies, and libraries: the advancement of knowledge and learning and communication of the products of those efforts to the entire world. You can see the principle at work now in the broad membership of the OAN, which includes individuals, libraries, societies, and publishers. This type of broad-based support can scale infinitely.

As it became clear that other initiatives had more potential traction with colleges and universities — although none (unfortunately) have found success either — we retired our fundraising efforts in direct support of the Open Access Network. Donations in support of the ongoing efforts of K|N Consultants to work on behalf of open access can be made on that site.

As we worked to establish the Open Access Network, we set up a membership program that any institution, library, university press or publisher, scholarly society, foundation, organization, or individual could join. Tiered ranges allowed for maximum flexibility within the levels of membership: Supporter ($10 – $999), Benefactor ($1,000 – $4,999), Collaborator ($5,000 – $9,999), Partner ($10,000 – $19,999), and Leader ($20,000 and above).

Members at whatever level demonstrated their support for a model for open access that is equitable, scalable, and sustainable. The monies raised went entirely to support the administrative and organizational infrastructure for the Open Access Network and to fund the pilot projects we hoped to use to test its model.

In our initial phase we wanted the Network to be seen for what it is: broad and inclusive, with members that include high schools, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and universities. We also welcome libraries, societies and university presses and scholarly publishers of all sizes — and budgets. We pursued foundation funding and asked for-profit organizations to contribute as sponsors. And of course we welcomed grassroots support from individuals. Because the Open Access Network is a legal entity of K|N, a registered 501(c)(3) organization, any donations may qualify for an income tax deduction in accordance with Federal and/or State income tax laws. Please consult with your tax adviser to determine whether your donation is tax deductible, in whole or in part.

• Become an open-access advocate, personally and professionally: Read your author agreements and retain your rights. Publish in a reputable open-access journal or with an open-access-friendly publisher. And participate regularly in the scholarly conversation, both face to face and via social media.
• Reach out to your colleagues and campus administrators. Help them better understand the issues. Coordinate messaging with us and with other local, national, and international OA advocates. Organize and participate in events.
• We welcome your help! Contact us at any time via Twitter or email.