Open Access in the Netherlands

Compared to other European countries, Netherlands is unique in regard to government policies on education, research and sharing of knowledge resources. Numerous national and multimational publishing groups have their headquarters in Netherlands. In April 2013, Dutch State Secretary of Education, Culture and Science, Sander Dekker, initiated his programmes on Open Access to scientific publications. The negotiations government and universities did with publishing groups, and legislations introduced by the country have all become history. Their effects in education and research are unprecedented. Netherlands became a model to other countries in providing Open Access to public funded research. This study focuses on business models and financing strategies of Open Access in Netherlands without neglecting the perspectives of the scientists.