At Oxford Brookes University, we have an Open Access policy which generally supports Open Access publication for all research outputs. We have an institutional repository, called RADAR (Research Archive and Digital Assets Repository), which is a key tool for sharing Oxford Brookes' Open Access research with researchers from other institutions and the general public.
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A research output can be regarded as being Open Access if the original research content has been made publicly and freely available online with an irrevocable licence or usage statement (such as a Creative Commons licence) that allows unlimited sharing and reproduction.
However, some research funders have a stricter definition for what they consider to be Open Access. See the links on the right for our support service for research projects funded by UKRI or one of its Research Councils. Please contact openaccess@brookes.ac.uk if you need advice on how to comply with a research funder's Open Access policy.
Here are the two main routes to achieving an Open Access publication:
Green Open Access
Green is a route to Open Access where there are two versions of the output: one is the ‘Version of record’ that is published by a scholarly publisher and that readers must pay to access, the other is the ‘Author's Accepted Manuscript’ that is made publicly and freely available to any readers without charge through a repository. Oxford Brookes has an institutional repository called RADAR that achieves this purpose.
Green Open Access functions within the traditional scholarly communications financial model, where readers (typically through academic library subscriptions) pay for services performed by scholarly publishers.
Gold Open Access
Gold is a route to Open Access where there is only one version of the output: the ‘Version of record’ that is published by a scholarly publisher, and this is freely available from that publisher’s platform immediately at the point of publication, to any reader, without any charge or barrier.
In Gold Open Access there are many different and evolving models for paying for the publishing services performed by scholarly publishers, though typically they involve direct payments from authors’ institutions or research funders.
There are multiple ways that the fees for Gold Open Access can be paid for Oxford Brookes authors:
- If a research project has an external research funder then that funder should pay any Open Access Fees. Researchers usually need to include the cost of Open Access Fees in their grant applications, though this is not necessary for UKRI / RCUK.
- Oxford Brookes Library may have an agreement with the publisher of their work that includes Gold Open Access publishing for Oxford Brookes authors. There is more detail on these agreements below.
- An application can be made for Oxford Brookes to pay an Open Access Fee (also known as an Article Processing Charge or APC).
Researchers submitting journal articles and conference proceedings for the REF must ensure compliance with the Open Access policy, which sets out specific requirements for how outputs are made publicly available. The following guidance outlines the two main routes to compliance - Gold and Green open access - and the associated processes authors need to follow.
- Journal articles and conference proceedings (research outputs) that were published in any publication with an ISSN number must satisfy the REF Open Access policy. This can be accomplished through either Gold open access or Green open access, so authors are free to publish in any journal that is the most appropriate for the output.
- Gold open access means that the output is free to read immediately and permanently upon publication and has been licensed by the publisher with a Creative Commons or equivalent licence. The CC-BY licence is ‘strongly preferred’ by REF. If a research output meets both of these conditions, there is no requirement to submit any version of the text in Converis.
- Green open access means that the output is published under the traditional subscription/paywall model, so the open access policy is met by making the final intellectual version of the text openly available in a repository (i.e., RADAR), normally after an embargo period. There are two essential steps necessary to meet the REF Open Access policy for these outputs. First, relevant outputs should be deposited in Converis as soon as possible after formal acceptance and in any case no longer than three months after the publication date. Second, the version of the output that must be deposited is the author's accepted and final peer-reviewed text (at Brookes we consistently use the term ‘author’s accepted manuscript’ and ‘AAM’, but this version is sometimes confusingly known as the 'postprint'). Please note that the version of the output that is provisionally accepted before peer review (‘author’s original’) or which has been initially published on a preprint server is not considered the accepted manuscript.
- Permitted embargo periods are: 6 months for main panels A and B, 12 months for main panels C and D. However, these embargo periods may be exceeded when the ‘most appropriate publication for the output’ requires a longer embargo.
- Authors should mention if an output arises from a UKRI-funded project when they record the output in Converis, since UKRI enforces a stricter open access policy that requires outputs to be made open access immediately upon publication.
Use our step-by-step guide to following the REF requirements on Converis:
As soon as you have had a paper formally accepted for publication, please follow these easy steps:
- Log into Converis
- Provide the key metadata for your paper in the required fields. Remember to include yourself among the authors, and ensure that you select the correct journal
- Upload the final author's accepted manuscript (AAM) of your paper
- Upload evidence of the acceptance date, e.g. a screenshot or copy of the email publisher.
- Help with adding records to Converis is available here.
When you upload publications to Converis, they are always checked by the Open Research Team before they are made open access. They will:
- Confirm which version of your paper can be published on RADAR.
- Confirm the copyright or licensing terms applicable to your paper.
- Observe any necessary embargo periods.
When your publication record is validated, you will receive a confirmation email generated by Converis. Please pay attention for any information specific to your paper that is included in this message.
'Act on Acceptance' and add your publication to Converis
Use our step-by-step guide to following the REF requirements
Oxford Brookes Library pays for agreements with scholarly publishers that provide Oxford Brookes authors with the opportunity to publish their work Open Access.
Please check the information under each publisher to see which journals and article types are covered. Some agreements include full coverage of article processing charges (APCs), while others offer a discount.
We recommend that you choose a CC-BY licence where possible. This is the most permissive of the Creative Commons licences and is the preferred option of many funders as it helps to enable open research.
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Our Open Access agreement with ACM
What is included:
Unlimited publishing for Brookes corresponding authors in all ACM journals and conference proceedings
All article types in eligible journals are covered.
What is excluded:
Journals and conference proceedings published jointly with IEEE are excluded, and a list of these is available on ACM’s Open Access Publishing Eligibility and Exceptions page.
When submitting your article, you must state your Oxford Brookes affiliation and use your University email address.
This agreement runs until 31 December 2028.
Cambridge University Press
Our Open Access agreement with Cambridge University Press
What is included:
Unlimited publishing for Brookes corresponding authors in most of CUP's hybrid and fully Gold Open Access CUP journals. For more information on which publications are covered by the agreement, you can search for participating journals using the Eligibility Checker on the CUP website.
Article types covered under this agreement include: Research Articles, Review Articles and Rapid Communications, plus Brief Report and Case Reports article types, which are often linked to research articles.
What is excluded:
- A few smaller and society-owned journals are excluded, so please use the Eligibility Checker or contact openaccess@brookes.ac.uk to be sure.
CUP are moving towards a default CC-BY licence, which we also recommend as the best choice for most researchers.
When submitting your article, you must state your Oxford Brookes affiliation and use your University email address.
This agreement runs until 31 December 2029.
Elsevier
Our Open Access agreement with Elsevier
What is included:
Unlimited publishing for Brookes corresponding authors in core hybrid journals (that publish a mix of Open Access and non-Open Access articles) without paying an Open Access Fee. Brookes authors can also publish in Cell Press Hybrid & Lancet Premium journals.
What is excluded:
The agreement does not fully cover Open Access publishing in Elsevier's Gold Open Access journals (i.e. journals that only publish Open Access articles), although Brookes affiliated authors are entitled to a 15% reduction in the Article Processing Charge (APC). You should make sure that you have funding in place before you agree to publish in a fully Gold journal, for example through your funder or by applying to use the University’s institutional open access fund. For more information on which publications are covered by the agreement, you can search the list of participating journals on the Elsevier website, or email openaccess@brookes.ac.uk for advice.
When submitting your article, you must state your Oxford Brookes affiliation and use your University email address.
This agreement runs until 31 December 2028.
Sage
Our Open Access agreement with Sage
What is included:
Unlimited publishing for Brookes corresponding authors in hybrid subscription titles from the Sage Premier collection, Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) collection and Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) collection.
What is excluded:
Exceptions are listed on the Hybrid Open Access (Sage Choice) page.
The agreement does not include Open Access publishing in Sage's fully Gold Open Access journals (i.e. journals that only publish Open Access articles), although Brookes affiliated authors are entitled to a 20% reduction in the Article Processing Charge (APC) for most Gold titles. You should make sure that you have funding in place before you agree to publish in a fully Gold journal, for example through your funder or by applying to use the University’s institutional open access fund.
When submitting your article, you must state your Oxford Brookes affiliation and use your University email address.
This agreement runs until 31 December 2028.
Springer Nature
Our Open Access agreement with Springer Nature
What is included:
Unlimited publishing for Brookes corresponding authors in Springer hybrid journals for the following article types: original research and review articles, brief communications and continuing education articles.
Publishing in hybrid journals in the Nature Portfolio. Only articles classed as Original Research are covered, but this includes the following article types: analysis, brief communications, registered reports and technical reports.
What is excluded:
The agreement does not cover Open Access publishing in Springer and Nature fully Gold Open Access journals (i.e. journals that only publish Open Access articles). You should always make sure that you have funding in place before you agree to publish in a fully Gold journal, for example through your funder or by applying to use the University’s institutional open access fund. For more information on which publications are covered by the agreement, visit the Open access agreements for JISC page on the Springer Nature website, or email openaccess@brookes.ac.uk for advice
When submitting your article, you must state your Oxford Brookes affiliation and use your University email address.
This agreement runs until 31 December 2028.
Taylor & Francis
Our agreement with Taylor & Francis
What is included:
Eligible articles are classified as RA (Research Article) on the publisher’s guide to article categories
Unlimited publishing for Brookes corresponding authors in Taylor & Francis Hybrid (Open Select) and Taylor & Francis Open journals.
Publishing on the following open research platforms is also covered: F1000Research, Bioethics Open Research, Health Open Research, MedEdPublish, Nuclear Science & Technology Open Research, Open Research Africa, Routledge Open Research, and Stosunki Miedzynarodowe-International Relations, NIHR Open Research.
What is excluded:
Articles classified as S&P (Specialist and Professional) on the publisher’s guide to article categories are excluded
Peer J and Dove Medical Press titles are excluded.
When submitting your article, you must state your Oxford Brookes affiliation and use your University email address.
This agreement runs until 31 December 2028.
The Company of Biologists
Our agreement with The Company of Biologists
What is included:
Unlimited publishing in Company of Biologists hybrid journals (Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology) and fully Open Access journals
All Research Articles are eligible, although other article types such as reviews may not be.
When submitting your article, you must state your Oxford Brookes affiliation and use your University email address.
All articles are assigned a CC-BY licence by default.
This agreement runs until 31 December 2026.
Wiley
What is included:
Unlimited publishing in hybrid journal (which publish a mixture of subscription and Open Access articles)
Publishing in Wiley fully Open Access journals, providing the article ‘cap’ (shared between all institutions participating in the agreement) has not been reached in the current calendar year
Eligible article types are primary research and review articles including, but not limited to, articles classified as Case Study, Commentary, Data Article, Education, Lecture, Method and Protocol, Perspective, Practice and Policy, Rapid Publication, Research Article, Review Article, Short Communication, and Technical Note. You can find more information about eligible journals on Wiley’s page on Open Access for Authors in the UK.
What is excluded:
Some article types may not be covered. Please check with the publisher if you are not sure.
When submitting your article, you must state your Oxford Brookes affiliation and use your University email address.
This agreement runs until 31 December 2026. The Wiley agreement includes a break-clause to allow institutions to transition to a proposed new non-article-based model for Open Access in 2027. This guidance will be updated if Brookes decides to move to the new agreement.