Open Access Funding for APCs: what works for now

Drafting and passing an open access policy, and creating an institutional repository are not the only necessary activities for research institutions wanting to take part in and add to the Open Access movement. We must also take on the responsibility of educating our campuses in the issues around open access to research and data. We must be willing to be local, state and national advocates for open access. And we must also help with direct monetary support for faculty facing APCs. Especially for articles that are non-grant funded. One of the most successful ways to initiate this type of funding is jointly, with support from more than one entity on campus. Often this means gathering support from the library and the office of research. Another place to find money for funding APCs can be found higher up, with the office of the Provost or President. It pays to be creative and think about who has a vested interest in faculty affairs, and get them involved. Because the annual funding amount is often finite, a policy for managing the funds must go along with the creation of the fund.

A recent example from Tufts:

Provost’s Open Access Fund awards five new grants – News – Tufts Daily – Tufts University.

And from Duke:

Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity at Duke University (COPE).