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 8.51. A final area of risk relates to the likelihood that for a period the UK will be ahead of much of the rest of the world in the adoption of open access publishing. This will need to be closely monitored, since the risks relate not just to costs for UK universities and research funders, but also to the substantial part of the research publishing business that is based in the UK, and the essential support it provides—not least through learned societies—to the performance of the UK research community.

8.52. But the biggest risk is to do nothing. We are in a period of rapid change in research publishing, and further change is on the way. As a result, current systems, policies and funding regimes have become unstable. We need to embrace and manage the change, and the risks associated with it; while seeking to sustain and develop what is valuable in a continually evolving system.