As the global transition to open access continues, the scholarly communication ecosystem faces a critical challenge: while substantial funds circulate within the system, they remain largely organized around paywalled models rather than structured to fully support open dissemination.
Institutions are now working to realign these investments to enable a fairer, more transparent flow of resources that advances open access. At the same time, publishers are re-evaluating their business models—considering how best to sustain the quality services that research communities rely on, while moving away from subscription-based systems toward open access.
To address these challenges, the OA2020 Working Group on Financial Flows and Cost Modeling is collecting data on current financial flows and publishing patterns to model how they might evolve in a fully open access world. Through detailed analyses of regional participation, the application of equitable pricing frameworks, and collaboration with publishers sharing anonymized data, the group aims to understand what fairer cost distributions and more equitable alignment with research output and global participation might look like.
Introduced at the 17th Berlin Open Access Conference (B17), this collaborative effort builds on the shared commitment to realigning investments in scholarly publishing around open access. Later in 2026, the working group will openly disseminate the synthesis of its findings, contributing evidence-based insights to guide the next phase of the global transition. These findings will also inform discussions at the 18th Berlin Open Access Conference (B18), where leadership and collaboration in advancing equitable investment in open access publishing will take center stage.
By sharing these insights with the community, we aim to foster dialogue and strengthen a more inclusive, transparent, and sustainable scholarly publishing ecosystem. Grounded in the principles affirmed in the B17 Final Statement—that financial barriers should never determine who can publish, and that investments must prioritize fairness, transparency, and inclusion over profit expectations—this collaborative effort invites publishers, libraries, and consortia to join in illuminating pathways toward fair investment and equitable participation in open scholarship.
Our shared goal is to support sustainable approaches that ensure open access publishing remains both viable for publishers and equitable for the global scholarly community.