The University of Nottingham open access (OA) policy supports a mixed model of gold and green open access.

All research papers (including journal articles, conference proceedings, book chapters and similar material), where copyright allows, should be made available in an open access form upon publication. 

All academic staff are required to make their research outputs open access wherever possible through the University repository (RIS):

• All research papers including journal articles, conference proceedings, book chapters and similar material, either in the form of the author's final manuscript or the formally-published version, where copyright allows, should be deposited in RIS upon acceptance for publication or as soon as possible thereafter.
• Where it is not possible to deposit an open access version of the full-text of the paper, a record of the publication should be created in the repository with a link to an externally held version.
• Where external funding is available to meet the costs of open access article processing charges (APCs), researchers should take advantage of opportunities to publish their work with immediate open access upon publication.

The REF OA policy forms part of the REF 2021 Guidance on Submissions (REF 2019/01). The policy applies to journal articles and conference papers in publications with an ISSN: 

• Any article or conference paper accepted for publication from 1 April 2016 must be made open access to be eligible for submission in REF 2021.
• The appropriate version, usually the  author's accepted manuscript, of an output must be deposited in an institutional repository i.e. RIS (or subject repository) within three months of acceptance (three months of publication until 1 April 2018).
• Gold and green routes to OA are acceptable.
• Embargo periods for green OA must not exceed the following maxima: 12 months for REF main panels A and B or 24 months for REF main panels C and D.
• The REF 2021 OA policy makes allowances where there are legitimate barriers to open access and these are listed as exceptions in the policy. Read the REF policy 

Note:  The REF 2021 publication period closed on 31 December 2020 but researchers should continue to comply with the requirements of the REF 2021 OA policy as part of preparations for REF 2029. 

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: Paid as part of grant funds or on a case by case basis
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: Please contact research@bloodcancer.org.uk
• APCs in fully OA journals?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: Yes
• Open access licence: CC BY
  
  For more information, please review the Blood Cancer UK open access policy or contact research@bloodcancer.org.uk

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: BHF will fund APCs for primary research articles and non-commissioned reviews through a block grant awarded to the University of Nottingham for the period 1 October 2024 – 30 September 2025.
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: UoN Gold Open Access Funding Form
• APCs in fully OA journals?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: Yes
• Open access licence: CC BY

For more information, please review the British Heart Foundation open access policy or contact research@bhf.org.uk

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: Authors can use grant funds or publish compliantly using the green route to open access on Europe PMC immediately upon publication
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: Grant funds
  
• APCs in fully OA journals?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: Yes
• Open access licence: CC BY

For more information, please review the Cancer Research UK open access policy or contact policies@cancer.org.uk

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: Authors can use grant funds or publish compliantly using the green route to open access with no embargo
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: Grant funds - budgeted into initial grant application
• APCs in fully OA platforms?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: No, including "Transformative Journals".
• Open access licence: CC BY

For more information, please see the European Research Councils webpage on open science requirements.

Authors can use the Journal Checker Tool, to see whether their preferred journal allows them to comply with the Horizon Europe open access policy. 

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: "Associated costs" allowances in research grant (during award period only)
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: "Associated costs" section of grant funds during award period.
• APCs in fully OA journals?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: Yes
• Open access licence: 

For more information, please see Leverhulme Trust's "Associated costs / research expenses" webpage or   contact grants@leverhulme.ac.uk 

New open access policy (applies to articles submitted from 1 June 2022):

Key changes based on 4 principles:
1. Articles must be immediately, freely open access (no embargo allowed) in Europe PMC or PubMed Central (PMC).

2. There should be no barriers to the re-use and dissemination of NIHR funded articles, all articles should be published under a Creative Commons attribution licence (CC-BY) or an Open Government licence (OGL). 

3. Articles must be freely discoverable - findable, accessible interoperable and reusable using journals, repositories and publishing platforms that meet standards of discoverability and include a data sharing statement and appropriate NIHR funding acknowledgement

4. NIHR will pay reasonable fees to enable immediate open access. From 1 June 2022, all eligible research award contracts issued across NIHR Programmes, NIHR Personal Awards and NIHR Global Health Research Portfolio will receive a ring-fenced open access funding envelope. The value of the envelope will be based on a standardised approach, benchmarked against other major UK research funders. Once the award/project has ended, any remaining funds in the envelope will be available to cover OA costs for up to two years. Please read the NIHR Open Access Funding Guidance page for further details.

Email openaccess@nihr.ac.uk with any queries. 

Former policy (applies to articles submitted before 1 June 2022)

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: Use the NIHR award to cover publication costs.
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: UoN Gold Open Access Funding Form (including details of University project code and name of UoN person who can authorise spending).
• APCs in fully OA journals?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: Yes
• Open access licence: CC BY

Email openaccess@nihr.ac.uk with any queries.

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: Additional allowable costs through grant applications and directly from Parkinson’s UK
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: Please contact researchapplications@parkinsons.org.uk
• APCs in fully OA journals?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: Yes
• Open access licence: CC BY

 For more information, please review the Parkinson's UK open access policy or contact researchapplications@parkinsons.org.uk

The current open access policy for research articles came into effect on 1 April 2022.

Long-form outputs published on or after 1 January 2024 will also come into scope of this policy.

Please visit UoN Libraries 'UKRI open access policy' webpage for more details.

If your research is funded by UKRI, we recommend checking these policy requirements at an early stage to ensure you can fulfill the conditions of your grant. Please email openaccess@nottingham.ac.uk for advice. The Journal Checker Tool will allow you to check whether your preferred journal offers you a compliant publishing route. 

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: Directly from Versus Arthritis grant tracker. 
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: Apply directly via Grant Tracker if your host institution or another funder cannot meet the costs of APCs
• APCs in fully OA journals?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: Yes
• Open access licence: CC BY

For more information, please see the Versus Arthritis open access policy or contact research@versusarthritis.org 

• Mechanism for providing funds for OA: The University of Nottingham has been awarded an open access block grant by Wellcome, with an end date of 31 December 2024.
• How do I pay for my article processing charge?: UoN Gold Open Access Funding Form
• APCs in fully OA journals?: Yes
• APCs in hybrid (subscription-based) journals?: No
• Open access licence: CC BY

For more information, please see the Wellcome Trust open access policy, read the Wellcome page on Complying with our open access policy or email openaccess@wellcome.org. 

Authors can use the Journal Checker Tool, to see whether their preferred journal allows them to comply with the Wellcome open access policy.