There are so many different open access policies but one that is close to my heart is the REF (Research Excellence Framework) Open Access Policy.
The policy was introduced for the first time for the REF2021 submission. The underpinning ethos is that the four UK HE funding bodies (Research England, Scottish Funding Council, Commission for Tertiary Education and Research and Department for the Economy Northern Ireland) believe that the outputs from publicly funded research should be freely accessible and widely available. What’s the point in carrying out all that lovely research if it’s difficult for people to read about it?!
The intention of the policy was to set minimum requirements for open access, whilst at the same time encouraging researchers and HEIs to develop a culture and environment that goes beyond this. For the REF2021 submission the policy considered all journal articles and conference contributions with an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) published after 1st April 2016 to be ‘in scope’.
The policy states that ‘outputs should be deposited, discoverable, and free to read, download and search within, by anyone with an internet connection’. Although, the gold open access route (accessible via the University’s Transitional Agreements or the payment of an Article Processing Charge) is a route to REF compliance, authors can also meet the requirements without incurring a cost. The free route to open access is available through the deposit of the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) on an approved repository (Figshare is fine). For an output to be considered compliant, the AAM must be deposited within 12 weeks of the output being accepted for publication by the journal/publisher. There were exceptions to the policy, but REF2021 required that no more than 5% of a unit of assessment’s outputs were non-compliant. In the case of the University’s submission this amounted to no more than one or two outputs per unit. This route, making your accepted manuscript available on a repository, instead of paying gold open access charges, is called green open access.
The repository team has lots of resources available to support staff throughout the deposit process, as it is essential that our outputs comply with the policy. It would be devastating to have to exclude a really strong output from the REF submission because it is not compliant with the REF’s Open Access Policy.
As we move into REF2029, the policy has undergone review; we are expecting further details to be launched before Christmas. Whilst we don’t know the exact rules yet we do know a few things.
Firstly, despite rumblings earlier in the REF cycle that the policy would be extended to longform publications (books, monographs etc.) it has been decided that this change won’t be implemented until the start of the next REF cycle (is it too early to mention REF2035?). The earliest date that changes surrounding longform publications will take effect from is the 1st January 2029.
Any other updates to the policy will be implemented no earlier than 1st January 2026, which allows HEIs time to implement the new changes (whatever they may be). It’s a shame that the release of the new policy hasn’t coincided with International Open Access Week but rest assured that whenever the policy arrives, we will pour over it and share all the relevant details with you. In the meantime, please make sure you’re still complying with the REF2021 policy. If you need any advice or guidance, please contact the Repository Team (repository@lincoln.ac.uk) and we’ll be happy to help.
This contribution was authored by Alison Wilson, Deputy Head of Research & Industrial Partnerships.