Written by Katy Askew, IFIS Publishing Managing Director, this article has been written to mark International Open Access Week 2026,and its theme, The Cost of Knowledge.
With nearly two million publications made immediately and freely available through gold open access in 2025 alone, it is important to consider: is open access changing who holds power within scholarly communication, or simply changing who pays?
This International Open Access Week, we consider how power operates across the entire research landscape: who can afford to publish, whose research becomes visible, and which knowledge ultimately influences scientific progress.
Because making an article free to read does not, by itself, make the system equitable.
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