Policymakers, analysts, think tanks and advocacy groups regularly produce policy documents that shape our lives, often drawing on academic research. But what happens when that research is locked behind paywalls? 

The answer is simple: when research is inaccessible, individuals and society are poorer for it. Those most affected by policies—citizens, educators, healthcare workers and community leaders—can’t engage with the evidence that shapes decisions. 

Open Access (OA) changes that. By making research publicly available, OA ensures that everyone can read, share and use knowledge. This is especially critical in areas like public health, education and climate policy, where informed communities are essential. 

And here’s the win-win: researchers benefit too. 

Studies show that OA articles are cited more often in policy documents than paywalled ones. At Griffith, this trend is clear—Figure 1 (below) reveals that OA Griffith papers attract significantly more policy citations. 

Bar chart showing policy citations of Griffith-authored articles from 2015–2024, with open access papers receiving significantly more citations.

Figure 1. Reproduced with permission from Elsevier(1)

In fact, 1,049 organisations, including the World Health Organisation, UNESCO, and national and international government agencies, have cited OA Griffith-authored articles in their policy documents(2). This spans formats such as clinical guidance, legal documents, white papers, scholarly articles, blog posts and more. 

This means OA doesn’t just expand readership—it amplifies societal impact by actively shaping decisions and informing practice across sectors. 

As we reflect on this year’s Open Access Week theme, ‘Who Owns Our Knowledge?’, one thing becomes clear: knowledge should belong to all of us—and open access is how we make that happen. 

Join the conversation at OA Week 2025, hosted by Open Access Australia. 

Footnotes: 

  1. SciVal. (2025).Griffith authored articles 2015 – 2024 cited in policy as at September 2025  [Data visualisation]. Elsevier. https://www.scival.com/ 
  2. SciVal. (2025). Scholarly output cited by policies at Griffith University Queensland: 2015-2024 [Data set]. Elsevier. https://www.scival.com/