Open access for UKRI long-form publications
This page covers open access requirements for UKRI-funded long-form publications (monographs, book chapters, edited collections) which came into force on 1 January 2024.
UKRI Guidance on making your long-form publication open access
UKRI open access policy
For UKRI-funded short-form publications (e.g. articles) read the separate page
What do I need to know?
The open access (OA) policy applies to research funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which comprises the seven research councils, Research England and Innovate UK.
The policy applies to long-form publications (monographs, book chapters and edited collections) published on or after 1 January 2024
The policy supports the transition to open access to government funded research.
What are the key requirements of the policy concerning long-form publications?
Monographs, book chapters, and edited collections published from 1 January 2024, which acknowledge UKRI funding, must be made openly available within 12 months of publication under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY preferred; alternatives may be permitted).
Policy requirements apply to long-form outputs published within seven years of the UKRI grant acknowledged ending.
How to comply
- Deposit your Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) in our institutional repository (RIS) (green open access).
- Publish the Version of Record (VoR) open access via the publisher’s website or a publication platform (gold open access).
If you are planning to publish your UKRI-funded long-form publication open acces via the gold route the maximum funding available from UKRI is:
- Book Processing Charge: £10,000 (inc. VAT)
- Chapter Processing Charge: £1,000 (inc. VAT)
- £6,000 for the first output in an alternative funding model (£3,000 for subsequent outputs).
Within these limits, up to £2,000 will be available for third-party rights clearance costs (in addition to any pre-existing grant funds ring-fenced for these costs).
UKRI have produced some guidance on managing third party content, which we recommend authors familiarise themselves with at an early stage.
Institutions will make applications on behalf of authors via a two-stage process (UKRI have produced guidance on the process):
- Stage 1: University of Nottingham Libraries registers output(s) with UKRI; UKRI confirms eligibility for funding. A publishing contract does not need to be signed at this point.
- Stage 2: Libraries confirms publication to UKRI; UKRI releases funds.
UKRI have outlined some policy exemptions (to be recorded by institutions):
-
Publishing contract signed before 1 January 2024.
-
The only appropriate publisher offers no compliant open access pathway.
-
If permissions for third-party material cannot be obtained and there is no suitable alternative.
-
Output is out of scope (e.g., scholarly editions, some trade books).
-
In-scope output arises from a UKRI training grant (e.g., PhD studentship).
Policy scope definitions can be found at Annex 1; guidance for exemptions is provided at Annex 3. There is also further UKRI guidance for researchers.
Libraries will notify UKRI of exemptions on the author's behalf, please contact Libraries to record and submit your exemption.
What do I need to do?
- Fill in the our enquiry form or email us for guidance before you submit your manuscript.
- Upload your author accepted manuscript (AAM) to RIS.