For Iowa State University, supporting the transition to equitable Open Access publishing models has become more than a commitment. It’s a strategy that demands visibility and actionable data that allows them to be agile. But with a growing number of OA agreements and researcher activity that spans multiple publishing models, tracking outcomes has been increasingly difficult.

The university currently maintains 24 OA agreements. While some publishers offer their own open access dashboard for tracking what has been published under the various agreements, many still rely on static spreadsheets shared with institutions. Compounding the challenge, these OA agreements only account for approximately 25% of the university’s corresponding authored article output. As this share grows, tracking and managing OA publishing activity will become increasingly difficult without robust systems in place.

This is where OA Switchboard delivers essential value.

Iowa State is an institutional participant in the OA Switchboard, enabling the platform to provide a critical layer of infrastructure. It delivers standardised meta-data directly from the publishers, allowing the library team to track research output in real-time. This includes a wide range of models, including those not tied to the traditional APC-based agreements, and publishers where no deal is in place.

With OA Switchboard, Iowa State has been able to identify articles they previously couldn’t easily track, such as those published through Subscribe to Open or supported by funder policies or waivers.

“Understanding our open access agreements requires more than what any single publisher can provide – the OA Switchboard opens the door to a more holistic view of how our researchers are engaging with open publishing." - Matthew Goddard, Head of Access and Acquisitions, Iowa State University

The benefits go beyond reporting. This new visibility strengthens communication back to faculty, supports negotiations with publishers, and improves alignment with institutional goals for equity and openness in research. For smaller or community-led publishers without robust reporting infrastructure, it also levels the playing field, ensuring their publications are seen and counted.

Matthew Goddard, who oversees OA agreement implementation at Iowa State, likens OA Switchboard to a trusted system in banking:

“It provides a mechanism for sharing crucial data in a standardised manner. A useful analogy comes from finance – banks provide their own services but all of them use SWIFT as the underlying communication mechanism for international payments. Anyone who is providing services in this area would benefit from working alongside the OA Switchboard.” In other words, everyone benefits when the ecosystem speaks the same technical language.

As Iowa State looks to expand its OA support, having accurate, real-time data on publishing activity will be essential. With OA Switchboard, the university is no longer in the dark. It’s equipped to stay current, stay accountable, and stay ahead.