24 March 2025, 12:00 to 14:00 Lazarus G. Matizirofa, Wits Libraries Library and Research Leadership Roundtable Transformative Agreements: Successes, Challenges, and Lessons Learned 1 Transformative Agreements: Successes 24.03.2025 Sources - 1: The Scholarly Kitchen 2: IOPscience 3: ESAC Initiative Transformative agreements are a significant step towards a more open and accessible scholarly publishing ecosystem – Cost-saving through SANLiC Agreements TAs: These agreements combine the costs of reading subscription content and publishing OA articles into a single contract. Institutions pay a combined fee that covers access to subscription journals and publishing their researchers' articles as OA. TAs: In this model, the primary focus is on covering the costs of publishing OA articles. Institutions pay for the publication of their researchers' articles, and in return, they receive access to the publisher's subscription content. TAs: Many transformative agreements eliminate APCs for authors, making it easier for researchers to publish their work OA without worrying about individual fees (APCs). TAs: Increase visibility and impact of freely available OA articles. This leads to greater societal engagement, and also higher citation rates of these freely accessible papers as many readers can access and cite them. TAs: Are linked to most global south universities’ goals, and often align with promoting OA and enhancing the research agenda to disseminate knowledge outputs for greater reach and visibility. 2 24.03.2025 Sources - 1: Science Editor 2: ESAC Initiative 3: Academia.edu Transformative Agreements: Challenges TAs are a business model of big publishers, they still affect and have effects on libraries and research spread unequally among institutions and globally. Financial Sustainability: One of the primary concerns is the financial sustainability of TAs. While they aim to transition from subscription-based models to OA, the costs associated with these agreements can be high. Institutions often face budget constraints, making it challenging to maintain these agreements long-term. Equity and Inclusion: Ensuring equitable access to OA publishing is another challenge. Smaller institutions or those in developing countries may struggle to afford the costs associated with TAs, potentially leading to disparities in access to OA publishing opportunities. Complex Negotiations: Negotiating TAs can be complex and time-consuming. Institutions need to balance the interests of various stakeholders, including researchers, librarians, and publishers. This process requires significant effort and expertise. Monitoring and Compliance: Ensuring compliance with the terms of TAs and monitoring their effectiveness can be difficult. Institutions need robust systems to track OA publications and ensure that the agreements are meeting their intended goals. Impact on Hybrid Journals: TAs often include provisions for hybrid journals (journals that publish both OA and subscription-based articles). Managing the transition of these journals to full OA can be challenging, as it requires careful coordination and financial planning. How do we sustain TAs: As we follow developments in the Global North around the Diamond OA route for social justice in scholarly communication to advance research as a public good 24.03.2025 Sources -1: College and Research Libraries News 2: ESAC Initiative 3: Choice360 Transformative Agreements: Lessons Learned TAs have provided valuable insights and lessons for the scholarly publishing sector Stakeholder Collaboration: Successful TAs require strong collaboration between institutions, publishers, and researchers. Open communication and shared goals are essential for negotiating and implementing these agreements effectively. Publishing Budget Planning: Institutions need to carefully plan and allocate budgets for TAs. As universities, we should plan and comprise the authors by ensuring the sustainability of this publishing model. Flexibility and Adaptability: We have noted that scholarly publishing is constantly evolving. Knowledge producers and publishers must, therefore be flexible and adaptable to address emerging challenges and opportunities in OA publishing. Monitoring and Evaluation: Regularly monitoring and evaluating the impact of TAs is important. This helps institutions understand the effectiveness of the agreements and make necessary adjustments to improve outcomes. Addressing Equity Issues: Ensuring that TAs are inclusive and equitable is a significant challenge. Publishers should work towards making OA publishing accessible to researchers from all regions and all institutions where research is conducted. Clear Communication: Clear and transparent communication about the terms and benefits of TAs is vital. This helps manage expectations and ensures that all stakeholders are aware of their roles and responsibilities. 24.03.2025 Source - 1: ESAC Initiative 2: IOPscience 3: College and Research Libraries News TAs Success at Wits Promoting Open Access: TAs help Wits libraries support OA publishing, making research more accessible to the public. This aligns with our mission as the Berlin Open Access signatory to provide free and open access to information. Cost Management: By combining subscription and OA publishing costs, TAs are helping us as a library to effectively manage our subscription and TAs budget. We can now predict our savings and also sustain the TAs’ budget. Increased Visibility: Wits’ OA articles are increasing visibility and impactful on the Internet for our SDG’s scorecard - more widely read and cited, enhancing the reputation of the library and its affiliated researchers Author Behaviour Change: Many authors have seen the benefits of OA publishing over the past 3 years, and the number of authors publishing via TAs is increasing. Co-Authorship between Supervisor and Postgraduate Students: We have noted an increase in co-publishing between supervisors and their students. Wits Libraries’ role in the OA publishing Cycle: Wits authors are seeking guidance on where to publish from the librarians, to avoid paying APCs. 5 Thank you image5.png image2.png image8.png image9.png image10.png image11.png image12.png image1.png