Open Access 2012: <em>la vie en rose</em>

Abstract

2011 has been a "rose" year for Open Access all over the world, as both the green and the gold ways met with great successes. Due to its social pervasiveness, Open Access is gaining ground within alternative economies and is opening new paths inside the social environment. In 2011 it was increasingly used for support and humanitarian aids worldwide, and acting as a real catalyst for information it involved people and cultures within the social media and the social networks. Its current ramifications are having great impact in the evolution of other open movements like the Open-Data movement, the e-Science's communities, the Open Education Resources (OER) and of newest and fascinating models of modern pedagogy like the so-called Massively Open Courses (MOOC), open online online university courses focused on open access and targeted to the masses. Nevertheless, due to the way scientific communication used to work until a few years ago, there are still a few critical points like the necessity to identify sustainable economic models for scientific publishing, and to find a proper rights' management model together with the consequent allocation of profits within the value chain. Thus, the projects of the Digital Innovation and the policy choices within the research programs of the Commission and the European Union will be strategic in promoting open access in the sense of open innovation, and in working out several critical issues.