Jisc Collections and Open Access Key work on OA payments pilot

Jisc Collections and Open Access Key (OAK), the online payment platform for open access publishing, will run a pilot project into processing gold open-access (OA) payments.

The 12-month pilot project will test Jisc APC's role in managing and processing article payment charges made by its member institutions in the UK.

Lorraine Estelle, CEO of Jisc Collections explained: 'We are very pleased to be partnering with OAK which will test the efficiencies that a trusted third party can bring to the processing of gold OA payments for both institutions and publishers. We hope that this extension of our established activity in the area of subscription-based resources will help all relevant stakeholders move forward during this transition phase in scholarly publishing.'

The new Jisc APC service aims to reduce the administrative burden on the various parties involved in making an article available. The combined offering is said to bring together OAK's innovation in this new area and the role that Jisc Collections has in processing and managing payments on behalf of UK institutions and publishers.

An invitation to participate will shortly be issued by Jisc Collections to UK Institutions interested in joining the project. Discussions with publishers will start at the same time.

The pilot will start on 2 April 2013.