Open Access for UKRI-funded researchers
UKRI’s Open Access policy
In August 2021, UKRI published its new . For articles and conference proceedings, this applies to papers submitted from 1st April 2022. For monographs, book chapters and edited collections, this will apply to items published from 1st January 2024.
If you are planning to publish in an Open Access journal that charges an APC to meet the requirements below, it is essential that you notify the Open Access team before submission to ensure use of the UKRI block grant.
If you are planning to publish a monograph/chapter/edited collection and require UKRI funds to do so, it is essential that you notify the Open Access team as early as possible as we will need to apply for use of UKRI's dedicated fund.
Articles and conference proceedings
The policy applies to all peer reviewed research articles (including review articles) and conference papers published in proceedings with an ISSN, submitted for publication after April 1st 2022 which acknowledge funding from one of the
Articles and conference proceedings:
- must be made open access within 1 month of the final date of online publication
- must be published with a (an exception for is possible via this )
- must include a Data Access Statement explaining where and under what conditions the data can be accessed, even where there are no data associated with the article or the data are inaccessible
To comply, authors can choose one of two UKRI Routes.
Route 1:
- publish in a fully Open Access (Gold) journal or platform that meets UKRI’s requirements (support from our block grant is available; please contact us before submission to ensure funds)
- publish Open Access in a subscription (hybrid) journal that is included in our Transformative Agreements.
- Open Access publication in hybrid titles outside these agreements will no longer be financially supported by UKRI (unless the title is designated a ).
Route 2:
UKRI have included in the policy an option to enable researchers to publish in a subscription journal & deposit their Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) in an institutional repository (Elements/SRO) with a CC-BY licence at the time of publication.
Submissions must include the following text in the funding acknowledgement section of the manuscript and any cover letter/note accompanying the submission:
For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence [where permitted by UKRI, ‘Open Government Licence’ or ‘Creative Commons Attribution No-derivatives (CC BY-ND) licence may be stated instead] to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising.
For advice on these options, please contact us ahead of submission at openaccess@sussex.ac.uk
Please note: if your research is in collaboration with non-UK based partners, you still need to comply with the policy, even if you are not the corresponding author. Researchers funded by UKRI should ensure that collaborators are aware of the terms of funding, and that the obligation to publish results Open Access is included in collaboration agreements. UKRI-funded authors are expected to take the lead in ensuring that the paper is made available as appropriate. More info is available on UKRI's .
Monographs, book chapters & edited collections
The latest information provided by UKRI can be found on their webpages:
-
-
-
-
Monographs, book chapters & edited collections:
- must be made open access within 12 months of official publication
- must be made available under a
UKRI have dedicated an annual fund for in support of this policy. Authors will need to contact openaccess@sussex.ac.uk to apply on their behalf.
There is a two stage process to apply for funding meaning that authors can apply (via the Library) for funds in advance of acceptance. Please note: authors should not apply to UKRI directly.
- Stage 1: the Library registers the output(s) with UKRI for funding. A publishing contract need not be signed at this point
- Stage 2: the Library provides final confirmation of publication to allow UKRI to release funds
- Costs to this fund are capped as follows (inclusive of VAT):
- £10,000 for Book Processing Charges (BPCs)
- £1,000 for Chapter Processing Charges (CPCs)
- Please note that outputs must be published within 7 years of the grant end date to be eligible for funding
To check eligibility for use of this fund, or for advice on how to comply with the policy, please contact openaccess@sussex.ac.uk
Exemptions to the policy are detailed on the . An exemption may be applied:
- if you have signed a contract with a publisher before 1 January 2024, which doesn’t enable open access in compliance with UKRI’s policy
- where the only appropriate publisher is unable to offer an open access option that complies with UKRI’s policy
- where a monograph, book chapter or edited collection is the outcome of a UKRI training grant (open access is encouraged but not required)
- where reuse permissions for third-party materials cannot be obtained and there is no suitable alternative to enable open access publication
For more information, please contact openaccess@sussex.ac.uk
Further information
UKRI's updated Open Access Policy came into effect on 01 April 2022 for research articles and will come into effect on 01 January 2024 for monographs, book chapters and edited collections. Read the new policy in full and an explanation of the policy changes .
The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) website holds further information on , together with a statement setting out their high-level policy and principles on open access, common to both the former HEFCE and Research Council policies.
Contact the Library team for support with Open Access questions at openaccess@sussex.ac.uk
Get support with Sussex Research Online at sro@sussex.ac.uk