How Open Access Research Has Influenced Public Policy

Open access research is freely available to a variety of audiences, including researchers, students, taxpayers, and policymakers. History reveals that open access publishing has shaped the development of key policies worldwide. In this blog article, we demonstrate how research published in open access peer-reviewed journals has influenced policy across different sectors of society. We also share examples of annual reports prepared by leading agencies and organizations, which policymakers regularly review when drafting key public policies.

From Journals to Legislation

Besides being freely accessible, open access research strengthens policymaking by giving lawmakers timely access to peer-reviewed scientific evidence. Taxpayers, in turn, can review the research cited in various public policies, thus enhancing transparency and increasing public trust in government decision-making. In addition, because open access research fosters research collaborations across disciplines, it can add significant value to public policies that warrant cross-disciplinary input. Moreover, policymakers and taxpayers from developing geographies can derive benefits from policy-relevant open access research published by developed nations, thus ensuring equity and quality at scale.

Overton and Clarivate’s Policy Citation Index

Launched in 2019, the Overton database identifies millions of policy-related documents from across the globe. As of January 2026, Overton has indexed over 23 million documents from 193 countries. These policy documents span across governments, public bodies, intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and think tanks. Researchers can easily use this versatile database to identify both open access and paywalled research that is cited in policy and demonstrate how peer-reviewed scientific evidence can inform and impact decision-making.

Quite notably, Clarivate has also mapped published research with policy mentions as part of its Policy Citation Index initiative. With its massive database, Clarivate hopes to connect research and real-world outcomes.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Report

According to a report published by the FAO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, nearly 670 million people worldwide are likely to face hunger by 2030. The key reasons cited include the recent COVID-19 pandemic, climate extremes, and conflict. The highly influential FAO report, referred to by policymakers across the globe, strongly recommends collaborative efforts to reshape agricultural policies, citing an open access Ethiopian study published in the Journal of Applied Economics as an illustrative case. The study highlights the challenge of limited budgets and conflicting policy objectives and recommends incorporating multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques for optimizing scarce resources. It is a widely acknowledged fact that FAO reports play an instrumental role in shaping public policies worldwide. These reports provide high-quality evidence that can be directly used to design intelligent strategies for food security, agriculture, and nutrition.

World Cities Report 2024: Cities and Climate Action

According to the World Cities Report 2024 (“Cities and Climate Action”), drafted on behalf of the United Nations, cities contribute significantly to climate change, but are also heavily affected by it. The in-depth report places a strong emphasis on adopting low-carbon, sustainable approaches to catalyze growth in cities. Such careful and timely mitigation can boost urban development while keeping emissions in check. The report cites several peer-reviewed open access articles from across disciplines. For instance, it cites an open access research article published by Assarkhaniki and co-workers in Sustainability Science that proposes a better way to measure resilience, helping communities prepare for future challenges. Another open access paper cited by the report includes research conducted by Buch and colleagues and published in Sustainability.

World Development Report 2024

In the field of development economics, the “middle income trap” refers to a situation where a country’s GDP per capita rises to a certain level but then stagnates, failing to advance to high-income status. World Development Report 2024, published by the World Bank Group, recommends intelligent strategies with which developing economies can avoid the infamous middle-income trap. For example, it suggests that lower-middle-income countries go beyond routine investment-driven strategies and adopt modern technologies as well as successful business practices from developed countries. The report cites several open access research articles published in peer-reviewed journals. For instance, it cites a study published by Bertoni and co-workers on the long-term effects of loan guarantees on small- and medium-sized enterprises in France. Another report-cited research study by Back and colleagues focuses on innovation in emerging markets vis-a-vis the role of management consulting firms.

A Primer for Policymakers

There are several other notable examples where key reports influencing public policy refer to open access publications. For instance, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an international body that helps governments design better policies for economic and social wellbeing, drafted a report titled “AI Openness: A Primer For Policymakers” in 2025. This report cites several articles published under open access, including a review published by Al-Kharusi and co-workers in Computers and an article by Urbina and colleagues in Nature Machine Intelligence, which shows how AI technologies for drug discovery could potentially be misused by sinister elements of our society.

Summary

Peer reviewed open access articles are increasingly shaping the global policy landscape. Because of its free availability, open access research is cited in highly influential reports produced by leading agencies and organizations. These reports often serve as the foundation for policymaking worldwide. In summary, open access research directly informs decisions that affect society at large.

Key Highlights

Policymakers, practitioners, and various other stakeholders can review open access research without any barriers.

Leading agencies and world organizations consistently cite open access studies in their flagship publications.

From agriculture and economics to technology and climate, open access research continues to shape key public policies worldwide.

Quiz for the Curious

How does open access research typically contribute to equity in policymaking across geographies?

(A) By allowing developing countries to benefit from policy-relevant research published by researchers from developed nations

(B) By granting free access to developing nations and by charging a huge fee to developed countries

(D) None of the above

Answer: (A)