Sir Mark Walport, the new chief scientific advisor to the UK government, spoke on Radio 4 last night on his passion for Open Access. Walport has come from being Director of the Wellcome Trust, the UK’s largest provider of non-governmental funding for scientific research.
“The bottom line is very simple: we want the science we fund to have the maximum impact, and it can only have the maximum impact if it has the maximum distribution. It’s as simple as that … Using the internet, we can actually make scientific research accessible – or available at any rate – to anyone who has an internet connection.”
You can listen to the broadcast here – (the bit on OA starts at about 11 min 40).
What do you think about Walport’s appointment? Does it herald a bright new era for Open Access? Is he asking for enough? Will it make any difference?
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Theodora is press officer at the Open Knowledge Foundation, based in London. Get in touch via press@okfn.org
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