Open Access is the free online availability of research publications coupled with the rights to use and reuse those publications.
Open Access means more readers, more potential collaborators, more citations of your work, and ultimately more recognition for you and your institution.
Open Access increases the return on research investment by ensuring the results of research can be read and built on and used by anyone, including Industry and Society.
Open Access expands the number of potential contributors to research from just those at institutions wealthy enough to afford journal subscriptions to anyone with an internet connection.
The more people that can access and build upon the latest research, the more valuable that research becomes and the more likely we are to benefit as a society. More eyes make for smaller problems.
Adapted from "Key OA Benefits" by SPARC Europe, licensed under CC BY 4.0