We think that, depending on the open format you're talking about, this is going to be a changing business format. For something like an open educational resources environment, this is something that's relatively new that generally is provincially supported. It's something that, depending on the model its been based on, has been up to a few million dollars a year based on course books that were in high demand. So, if you were in a 101 course in British Columbia—a base-level course—that had high enrolment, they were going to create a textbook in that kind of environment.
The one thing about these kinds of processes is that they do snowball. The interesting thing about any kind of open format is that the next time the funding comes forward, maybe the project is to translate that textbook, or maybe the process is to make this textbook more regionally specific to interior British Columbia. These are the kinds of things this base content allows for and then you can build off in those granting models. We think that can be a very successful way of delivering really innovative content and Canada-centric content.
One of the big benefits of this material is that it can be very easily tailored. Right now, every one of us can go on the Open BCcampus site and grab those textbooks, and you'd be able to bring those forward. If professors take that, bring it into their course plan, amend it, and get approval from their department, that's delivered, and it's delivered in a really clear way to the individuals involved.
We do think that in some models there are places we are concerned about. When it comes to some of the open access discussions, we're strong supporters of it, but we do think the one thing that needs to be ensured is that especially young researchers and the emerging researchers don't have to pay the upfront fees. They're very often expected to still get published in that kind of a format, which can sometimes range up to $1,000.
Those kinds of things can be a burden and might not be expected on that original research grant, and we think those things need to be considered in those environments as well.