This page details the major UK policies that the Open Access Service was set up to help authors to comply with. Many other UK funders have open access policies, which can be found by looking through the Sherpa Juliet service. The Open Access team are happy to help researchers comply with any open access policies.
Summary of key policies
| Policy | Gold | Green |
|---|---|---|
| REF2021 | No | Yes |
| British Heart Foundation | Yes | Yes, with a 6 month embargo |
| Cancer Research UK | Yes | Yes, with no embargo |
| Research Councils | Yes | Yes, with no embargo and a CC BY licence |
| Wellcome Trust | Yes | Yes, with no embargo and a CC BY licence |
REF2021 Open Access Policy
The REF policy for open access in the post-2014 Research Excellence Framework states that to be eligible for the post-2014 REF, authors' final peer-reviewed manuscripts must have been deposited in an institutional or subject repository on acceptance for publication. Deposited material should be discoverable, and free to read and download, for anyone with an internet connection. The requirement applies only to journal articles and conference proceedings with an International Standard Serial Number. It will not apply to monographs, book chapters, other long-form publications, working papers, creative or practice-based research outputs, or data. The policy applies to research outputs accepted for publication after 1 April 2016. FAQs for the Policy for Open Access in the next REF were updated in March 2015.
British Heart Foundation (BHF) Open Access Policy
BHF's Open Access Policy states that a copy of the final published version or accepted manuscript of each peer-reviewed primary research paper or non-commissioned review article, supported in whole or in part by our funding, shall be deposited in Europe PMC, to be made freely available as soon as possible and no later than 6 months after publication. BHF provides block grants to the University to support the payment of article processing charges.
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Open Access Policy
CRUK's Open Access Policy states that papers resulting from research that they have funded must be made available in Europe PubMed Central at the time of final publication, that the open access version must be published with a CC-BY 4.0 licence, and that the paper must acknowledge CRUK along with the grant reference number. Authors can pay to publish in a fully open access or hyrid journal, or via a transitional agreement (in which case, a CC BY licence is required), or they can make their accepted manscript available immediately upon publication (in which case, a CC BY licence is preferred but not required for compliance).CRUK provides block grants to the University to support the payment of article processing charges.
Research Councils UK (RCUK)/UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) Open Access Policy
The Research Councils Policy on Open Access states that short form publications (i.e. journal articles and conference proceedings) arising from funded research must be made openly available immediately upon publication, with a CC BY licence. Authors can pay to publish in fully open access journals, publish open access via a transitional agreement, or make their accepted manuscript immediately available in an open access repository upon publication. The policy applies to peer‐reviewed research articles (including review articles), which acknowledge Research Council funding. The policy has been in place since 1 April 2022. The Research Councils provide block grants to the University to support the payment of article processing charges.
The RCUK/UKRI open access policy for long form publications (e.g., book chapters, monographs, edited collections) comes into effect for publications published on or after 1 January 2024. The policy will require long form publications to be made freely available to view and download within 12 months of publication. Publications must have an open licence, and the policy can be met either by paying to make the pubilcation gold open access or by self-archiving the accepted manuscript. UKRI will be administering an open access fund to assist with open access charges for books.
Students funded by a UK Research Council
Research Councils Training Grants have a requirement that students with funded PhD positions make a full text version of their thesis available no later than 12 months after they are awarded their doctorate. The Research Councils Training Grant Guide states: "Councils recognise that commercial, collaborative or publication arrangements may necessitate a slight delay; the delay can be at the Research Organisation's discretion but we expect the thesis to be deposited as soon as possible. The Research Councils expect the Research Organisation to have in place a documented process for determining where exceptions can be granted to the requirement for publication within 12 months".
Wellcome Trust's Open Access Policy
Wellcome Trust's Open Access Policy states that publications arising from funded research must be made openly available immediately upon publication, with a CC BY licence. Authors can pay to publish in fully open access journals, publish open access via a transitional agreement, or make their accepted manuscript immediately available in an open access repository upon publication. The policy applies to peer‐reviewed research articles, which acknowledge Wellcome Trust funding. The policy has been in place since 1 January 2021. Wellcome Trust provides block grants to the University to support the payment of article processing charges.
The Wellcome Trust also has an open access policy for scholarly monographs and book chapters. Publications authored or co-authored by Trust grantholders that arise as part of their grantfunded research must be made freely available through NCBI Bookshelf PubMed Central (PMC) and Europe PMC as soon as possible and no later than within 6 months of the official final publication date, and if a fee has been paid, be published under a Creative Commons licence Wellcome's preference is for a Creative Commons attribution licence (CC BY), however, researchers may choose to publish their work under any of the Creative Commons licences including non-commercial and non-derivative licences (CC BY-NC or CC BY-NC-ND). Funding to make book publications open access should be made directly to Wellcome Trust, more information can be found on Wellcome's website.
Wellcome Trust grantholders or publishers of research funded by the Wellcome Trust can use the deposit form available from the Wellcome Trust website to deposit a monograph or book chapter for inclusion in the PubMed Bookshelf and Europe PMC
Services at the University of Cambridge
The University administers the block grants mentioned above centrally. Authors should deposit their accepted articles and the Open Access team will ensure REF compliance and check funder policies. If the payment of an article processing charge is required, the Open Access team will help the author facilitate this payment.