What OA-requirements do the funders have for books?
One way of financing open access books is through dedicated funding provided by research funders. We have compiled an overview of research funders’ open-access requirements for monographs and book chapters, including their policies on copyright and CC licensing.
Research funders can be divided into three categories with regard to open access requirements for monographs and book chapters.
- The first category includes funders with explicit open access requirements covering monographs and book chapters, such as the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen), the Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen), and the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet).
- The second category consists of funders that encourage, but do not require, open access for books and book chapters. Examples include Horizon 2020 and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ), which encourage researchers to make these publications openly available whenever possible.
- The third category includes funders that currently have no specific open access requirements for monographs and book chapters. Examples of such funders are Formas, Forte, and Vinnova.
| Funder | Is open access required for monographs and chapters? What policies regarding copyright and CC-licences do they have? |
|---|---|
|
|
No. The rules do not apply to publication in monographs and anthologies. |
| Forte |
No. Monographs and anthologies are currently exempt from requirements for open access |
| The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen) |
Yes. Open access: There must be immediate open access. This applies to monographs as well. |
| Horizon 2020 |
No, but strongly encouraged if peer-reviewed. Grant beneficiaries are also strongly encouraged to provide open access to other types of scientific publications including:
Monographs can also be published either on a purely open access basis or using a hybrid business model. Other types of scientific publications, such as non-peer-reviewed articles as well as monographs, books, conference proceedings and ‘grey literature’ (i.e. informally published material not having gone through a standard publishing process, e.g. reports), are not covered by the open access obligation. Best practice: However, to ensure fuller and wider access, beneficiaries are encouraged to provide open access also to these other types of scientific publications (where possible). CC BY (preferred) Beneficiaries/authors are encouraged to retain copyright and grant appropriate licences to publishers. They are encouraged to use Creative Commons (CC) or similar licenses. CC BY is a good legal tool for providing open access in its broadest sense. |
| Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen) |
Yes. For projects that have been granted funds by the Knowledge Foundation and that are contracted after 1 February 2023, all forms of publications must be published with open access. In other words, the results from the research that is fully or partially funded by the Knowledge Foundation must be published with immediate open access. This means that all types of publications, for example articles, chapters and scientific books, must be freely available in digital form without delay. |
| Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) |
No, but encouraged. RJ's open access policy does not include monographs or book chapters. However, RJ would like to encourage researchers to publish those open access as well. Through the Kriterium platform, researchers can have their monographs scientifically reviewed while making them openly accessible. CC BY (preferred) Publish with the most permissive license possible. Researchers who pay an article processing charge (APC) should publish with a Creative Commons license. These licenses mean that those who use, modify, or distribute your articles must acknowledge you as the author, and as the author, you retain the right to disseminate your research. One specific book or article can have different licenses. |
| Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) |
Yes. The publications that result from research that is wholly or partly funded by the Swedish Research Council shall be freely accessible to all, without delay. The requirement applies to all types of scientific publications, for example articles, monographs, books and book chapters. CC BY (shall) Publication shall be under a CC BY-license. |
| Vinnova |
No.
Other types of publications, such as monographs, book chapters, reports, or articles published in professional or other journals that do not apply peer review, are not covered by these guidelines. |