Funder policies (open access)

Open access requirements for externally funded research

The table below includes Open Access requirements of common external funders of SOAS Research and links to their official guidance. Researchers should think about Open Access when they apply for funding applications as there are often opportunities to cost in Open Access to budgets of applications. It is essential to know the requirements for Open Access to publications that result from funded research so that you can check potential publisher policies and processes for Open Access before you submit outputs to publishers.

Please contact outputs@soas.ac.uk if your funder isn’t listed and you aren’t sure of their Open Access options and requirements or if you need help with the practicalities of making outputs from your project Open Access.

UKRI (e.g. AHRC, ESRC) 

Applies to: Journal articles, books and chapters. 

Full details are on this page.

 

  • The Version of Record should be published immediately Open Access, or the Author Accepted Manuscript made available on a repository on publication, e.g. SOAS Research Online. 
  • A Creative Commons licence must be used. CC BY is required for articles. 
  • Books and chapters deposited in a repository can have a maximum 12-month embargo. 

Funding available 

 

  • Funding is available to cover some publication costs. Find more information here.
  • Confirm the availability of funding before you commit to a publisher. 
Further information 
Wellcome Trust 

Applies to: Journal articles, books and chapters. 

 

 

  • Articles must be made immediately available on publication with a CC BY licence. 
  • A 6-month embargo is allowed for books and chapters, and other Creative Commons licences are allowed. 
  • A version must also be made freely available from Europe PubMed Central upon publication, and can also be deposited in an institutional repository, e.g. SOAS Research Online. 
  • Preprints are strongly encouraged, and preprint deposit is required if unable to comply in any other way. 
Funding available 
  • Email: openaccess@wellcome.ac.uk to access funds and include details of your grant and publication. 
  • Wellcome will only fund the cost of article processing charges (APCs) for articles published in fully open access journals or platforms indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. 
Further information 
Horizon Europe (2021 - 2027) 

Applies to: Journal articles, books and chapters. 

 

  • Publications must be open access immediately on publication, via a publisher’s platform or can be self-archived (usually the accepted manuscript) in a trusted repository before or at publication. 
  • A Creative Commons licence must be used. CC BY required for articles. 
  • Other open science practices such as preprints are encouraged. 

Funding available 

 

  • Payment should be made from your active research award, but fees for publications in hybrid or subscription journals are not eligible. 
  • Confirm the availability of funding before you commit to a publisher.
Further information 
Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) 

Applies to: Journal articles, books and chapters. 

 

 

  • Publications must be published Open Access immediately or deposited in a repository.  
  • A 12-month embargo is allowed (6-months for STEM publications). 
  • No specific licence is required. 
Funding available 
  • Payment of Open Access fees are allowed from the project budget. 
Further information 

Department for International Development 

Applies to: Peer-reviewed Journal articles. 

  • Paid Open Access route preferred for immediate Open Access.

  • If self-archiving in SOAS Research Online, articles must be made Open Access no later than 6 months after publication.

  • Manuscripts must also be deposited and made available in the R4D repository.

Leverhulme Trust 

No specific requirements on Open Access 

 

  • Payment of Open Access fees allowed from funding provided they are incurred in lifetime of project. 

British Academy 

No specific requirements on Open Access 

  • Costs for Open Access not an allowable cost in funding.

 

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