CGIAR Research Centers and Research Programs have been leaders in agricultural development for decades, producing valuable outputs that are generally considered to be global public goods. Recognizing the need to make these outputs findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, CGIAR has made a strong commitment to Open Access and Open Data (OA-OD), with all 15 Centers signing on to the Open Access and Data Management Policy in 2013.

Implementing OA-OD in a harmonised manner across CGIAR will not only enable compliance with an increasing number of donor policies (e.g. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Open Access PolicyUSAID Open Data Policy), it will empower researchers to improve efficiencies and enhance innovation and impact in an era of complex and large data sets (“big data”). In the video clip below, Dr. Stanley Wood, Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, echoes some of these thoughts, and provides a donor perspective on the importance of Open Access.