Open Access compliance – key messages

Open access policies for research outputs are now mostly unavoidable. It is a requirement of REF2021 and most major Funders. The University of Warwick has its own policy on open access for both publications and access to research data. There is one, simple, take-home message – inform the Library about all research outputs and we can advise on requirements towards compliance. Contact us on acceptance by publishers for journal articles/conference proceedings and about datasets generated that support the findings of your publications.

A workflow of actions for both open access compliance is included in this briefing document.

Research Data Management

Requirements by most funders generally follow the ten principles outlined in the Concordat signed in by four key organisations: RCUK, HEFCE, Universities UK and The Wellcome Trust and published July 2016.
A summary of funder requirements for data with hyperlinks to policies for funders relevant to the Physics department is given in this briefing document. The most stringent policy for open data is for EPSRC. By way of example, details of EPSRC expectations are given in the briefing document, with highlights showing specific deviations from BBSRC. Grant award contracts will include clauses on Open Data policy, but may be overridden by more recent changes to Research Council policy.

University of Warwick’s institutional repository – WRAP

WRAP is a full-text, open access service showcasing and preserving research outputs of the Warwick community to a global audience. WRAP is a compliant repository for the purposes of HEFCE REF Open Access policy and allows open access to be achieved, without additional cost to author, through the “Green” route.

HEFCE Policy on Open Access for REF2021

To be considered eligible, outputs must be:

• At least the the author’s accepted manuscript(version after peer-review changes)
• Deposited in WRAP or a compliantsubject repository
• Deposited on acceptance for publication
• Mandatory for outputs accepted for publicationafter 01 April 2016

More information can be found in this briefing document.