Access to research publications – a reminder

“EPSRC would like to remind all those it funds that published research arising from EPSRC funding must be made openly accessible by any available route. Free and open access to publicly-funded research offers significant social and economic benefits. The Government, in line with its overarching commitment to transparency and open data, is committed to ensuring that such research should be accessible free of charge. As public bodies, the Research Councils take very seriously their responsibilities in making the outputs from this research publicly available – not just to other researchers, but also to potential users in business, charitable and public sectors, and to the public. The current EPSRC policy requires that all published research articles arising from EPSRC-sponsored research, and which were submitted for publication on or after 1 September 2011, must become available on an Open Access basis through any appropriate route. Article processing fees for open access journals are allowable as direct costs and may be included in any grant application. For the full policy see the Open Access Full Policy. The Research Councils are very pleased to be members and sponsors of the independent National Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings, chaired by Dame Janet Finch (see Working Group for Expanding Access for more information). This independent group will propose a programme of action and make recommendations to government, research funders, publishers and other interested parties on how access to research findings and outcomes can be broadened for key audiences such as researchers, policymakers and the general public. Within the context of this group, the Research Councils will be developing further its own policies for open access to publications.”