Guide

Complying with UKRI open access policy: publishers

Practical steps for publishers to ensure researchers and UKRI-funded authors can access funds to make their research immediately available.

Contents

Introduction

This guide for publishers covers

peer-reviewed research articles
monographs, book chapters and edited collections

UKRI’s open access policy requires that all peer-reviewed research articles (including reviews and conference papers) submitted on or after 1 April 2022 must be made open access (OA) immediately on publication.

The policy also extends to long-form publications, specifically monographs, book chapters, and edited collections published on or after 1 January 2024.

Since the policy launch, we have engaged with over 400 publishers to ensure that UKRI-funded authors can publish in the journal of their choice, with minimal friction. Funding is also available to help authors of long-form content comply with this policy.

This guide outlines steps that you can take to ensure publication options for UKRI-funded authors.

Requirements for research articles


Immediate OA, no embargo	Authors must be able to make their articles open access immediately on publication. They can achieve this via: Gold (route 1): version of record (VoR) made OA on publication Green (route 2): author-accepted manuscript (AAM) (or VoR) is deposited in a repository immediately on publication
CC BY licence required	UKRI’s policy requires a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence for most articles, ensuring maximum reuse and visibility. CC0 is also permitted. CC BY-ND is an exception requiring explicit approval.
Data access statement	Authors must include a statement about how to access the data underlying their work, or explain why data cannot be openly shared. The UKRI guidance on making your research data open can help with this.

Requirements for monographs, book chapters, and edited collections

The policy only applies to new long-form publications stemming from UKRI research. It also does not cover textbooks, creative works, fiction, or doctoral theses.


OA within 12 months	Authors must ensure that either the final published book or chapter, or the author’s accepted manuscript, is freely available no later than 12 months after publication. They can do this via: Gold OA (immediate): The final book or chapter is made open access by the publisher at the time of publication Green OA (self-archiving): Either the final book or AAM of the book or chapter is self-archived in a repository, with no more than a 12-month delay
Creative Commons licence required	CC BY is preferred, but other CC licences, including CC BY-ND and CC BY-NC-ND are permitted Third-party materials within the work (eg text, images, or figures which the author does not have copyright for) may be excluded from the OA licence requirement

Why publishers should offer compliant options

Publishers play a crucial role in helping authors comply with UKRI’s policy, by providing suitable routes (open access publishing option or compliant self-archiving policy) and by working with authors to implement the licence and availability requirements.

Maintain access to block grants: if your journal does not provide a compliant route, UKRI-funded authors cannot use block grant funds for APCs
Future-proof strategy: UKRI block grants are not guaranteed indefinitely. Publishers need to adapt for long-term sustainability, recognising the significant financial challenges that institutions currently face. Building multiple routes to compliance safeguards your publishing business from policy or funding changes
Help authors comply with REF requirements: ensuring UKRI policy compliance also helps authors meet REF requirements, reducing confusion and extra work

Research articles: block grant funding

What is eligible for block grant funding?

Jisc-approved transitional agreements (TAs): publishers participating in TAs can receive funding through the UKRI block grant
Fully OA journals and subscribe-to-open: these remain eligible for block grant APC coverage if they meet UKRI’s licensing and immediate OA availability criteria

What is not eligible for block grant funding?

Transformative journals (TJs) no longer covered: block grants cannot be used for articles submitted after 31 December 2024
Hybrid journals outside TAs: if your hybrid journal is not part of a Jisc-approved TA, APCs are not covered by the UKRI block grant. Authors must use Route 2 (Green) for compliance in hybrid journals, with no embargo and CC BY (or CC0)

Accessing UKRI OA funding for long-form content

UKRI offers up to £10,000 (including VAT) towards OA publishing costs for a monograph. The application for this funding is made through the author’s institution as follows:

Stage one: approval

An initial application for funding approval is made as soon as the author enters into publishing discussions.

Tip: institutions require a formal quote from the publisher to complete this stage which details the fee (and confirms it is within the £10,000 limit, inclusive of VAT) and states that it is for open access.

Stage two: reclaim costs

Institutions can claim a reimbursement of the invoice once a final invoice is received and the book has been published.

Tip: UKRI processes payments twice yearly. Publishers may be asked to coordinate timing with institutions so that they avoid a delay in reimbursement.

Help explore diamond models for OA

We're working with UKRI to support diamond models for OA.

Diamond open access models are publishing models that facilitate open access to the version of record without incurring book processing charges, for example through community funding or subscribe to open models, or other modes for financing the production and publication of a book.

If a supporting institution has a UKRI funded author published as part of a Diamond OA initiative, they will be entitled to claim up to £6,000 of their supporter fee (£9,000 if two or more titles by eligible funded authors are published) from the UKRI ring-fenced fund.

The diamond open access models for monographs and edited collections offered via Jisc require a ‘green’ open access backstop that will enable UKRI-funded authors to comply with UKRI’s open access requirements by self-archiving the author’s accepted manuscript within 12 months in a repository to comply with UKRI’s open access requirements, should the agreement not be fully funded.

Find out more about our routes to fully open access agreements

Practical steps: peer-reviewed research articles

1. Offer affordable choices

We continue to review the financial sustainability of agreements. In 2025, we enter negotiations for next generation open access, with a focus on fair, equitable and sustainable agreements that meet the evolving needs of UK universities and the research community.

Agreements that do not meet these needs may be cancelled, or institutions may opt-out
Collaborate with us to ensure your APCs or deals are priced so institutions can continue to participate
If institutions withdraw, let authors know they can still comply via other routes: offering a green route or title-by-title OA ensures all UK researchers can still publish in your journal

2. Provide CC BY (or CC0)

Make the licensing workflow straightforward, ideally making CC BY the default for UKRI-funded authors
If CC BY-ND is allowed, direct authors to the UKRI exception process

3. Promote your compliant routes

Clearly state gold or green routes on your journal website, in submission guidelines, and in author communications
Indicate if you have a Jisc-approved TA, so authors understand they can use block grants
Transformative journals are no longer acompliant route. Ensure webpages, submission guidelines, and any other author communications are up to date

4. Streamline green OA

Update your workflow or automated messaging to confirm that authors can deposit the AAM or VoR with no embargo under a CC BY licence
Do not remove rights retention statements from manuscripts

5. Simplify author workflows

Provide clear, accurate funding and licence metadata so authors know their options
Make policy checks easy by linking to tools like open policy finder or journal checker tool
Aim for frictionless submission experiences so authors don’t worry about complex OA policies

Practical steps: monographs, book chapters and edited collections

1. Communicate with authors about the policy

Ensure you are aware if your author is UKRI-funded
Clearly communicate your OA options in your author guidelines or directly in conversations with authors
If you offer a gold OA option, have OA costs clearly summarised and what it includes

2. Allow for OA within the author contract

What licence will the work be published under (CC BY preferred)
What is the fee and who will pay for it (eg “The author’s institution will pay publisher a book processing charge of £X to cover open access publication, payable upon acceptance of the final manuscript/invoice issuance.”)
If you allow green self-archiving, ensure your contracts have the necessary language
What is the timeline for making the work OA (immediately on publication if a BPC is paid; or delayed if green self-archiving allowed)
Clarify any exceptions regarding third-party content (like “third-party images are excluded from the OA licence”)

3. Coordinate with institutions

Your author’s library or research office will need to process the application with UKRI, so it’s important to coordinate the process with them, and ensure all requirements are met (including licensing and meeting the funding cap):
- - At stage 1 discuss information required and that the contract complies witht the policy
  - At stage 2 coordinate on timing of final invoicing to enable quick reimbursement to the institution

4. Support third party rights clearance

If there are third-party rights for any content within the title, support the author in applying for copyright clearance.

5. Make sure book is published OA

Ensure the published version has the correct metadata for OA. Consider sending metadata to DOAB, or deposit in OAPEN.

6. Make sure to capture in your systems which titles are UKRI-funded

Add the funder name (UK Research and Innovation) and ideally the specific grant number to the metadata.

Checklist for peer-reviewed articles

Use this checklist to confirm your journal’s readiness to support UKRI-funded authors:

CC BY or CC0 is the default for UKRI-funded articles
CC BY-ND only offered with explicit UKRI approval
Zero embargo green OA route is offered (AAM or VoR) and clearly stated
Jisc-approved TA status displayed on your website or author info pages
References to transformative journals as a compliant route removed from all author-facing materials
Links to open policy finder or journal checker tool included
Authors’ rights retention statements are not removed
Clear information that authors can include a data access statement in final articles
Metadata on funding sources and licences is kept up to date and shared to support compliance checks

Checklist for peer-reviewed articles monographs, book chapters and edited collections

Use this checklist to confirm your readiness to support UKRI-funded authors:

OA routes for authors are highlighted in author communication, including BPC cost (within £10,000 for monograph including VAT) or self-archiving policy (within 12 months)
Creative Commons licence offered
Third-party rights cleared or excluded from OA licence
Institution is contacted to arrange application for stage one funding at contract stage
Institution is contacted to coordinate payment timing for final invoice
Book is published OA on publication (if BPC paid) with correct OA licence.
Metadata shared

Further information

Contact us

For help and guidance on the above, please contact us by phone 020 3006 6088 or email help.digitalresources@jisc.ac.uk

This guide is made available under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND).