How Jisc helped implement UKRI’s open access policy for research articles – and what’s next
Our strategic support for implementing UKRI’s open access policy includes negotiations with 416 publishers, cost-saving measures, and future plans for sustainable open research models.
Since the launch of the UKRI open access (OA) policy for research articles in August 2021, we have delivered targeted interventions to help libraries and researchers meet the policy’s requirements. With our implementation phase now complete, we are looking ahead and considering what ongoing support our members can expect as we all work towards the broader goals of open research.
Supporting institutions with UKRI-funded journal articles
We engaged with 416 publishers to negotiate compliant routes for 98% of UKRI-funded articles, delivering significant cost savings, expanding researcher options and ultimately reshaping the UK’s research landscape.
This work has helped to:
- Deliver bibliodiversity: we worked with over 400 small, medium and large publishers to ensure that UKRI-funded authors in all disciplines and regions could continue to publish in their preferred journals
- Offer multiple routes to compliance: we supported 51 transitional agreements (TAs), Subscribe to Open and compliant green agreements, reducing administrative burden for library teams
- Support negotiations through data analysis: we used robust data to support strategic negotiations and to enhance tools to navigate compliance, notably open policy finder and the Journal Checker Tool
- Simplify workflows: we worked with publishers to make licensing options, especially CC BY and Green OA, visible and straightforward for authors
- Achieve cost savings: by engaging a range of open access models, we enabled sector-wide savings, balancing affordability with retaining a choice of options for UK researchers
- Extend outreach: we produced guides, blogs and webinars to build awareness and address sector pain points. Libraries across the UK shared best practices in open forums, building capacity and confidence
Our approach, particularly working in partnership with smaller publishers, helped to ensure friction-free routes for most UKRI-funded authors and has helped build confidence in new open access models.
Our approach, particularly working in partnership with smaller publishers, helped to ensure friction-free routes for most UKRI-funded authors and has helped build confidence in new open access models.
Lessons learned
Although we’ve achieved broad coverage in where researchers can publish in compliance with the policy and eligibility for the UKRI block grant, several priorities remain to further strengthen open access:
- Metadata and open data: our reliance on commercial data sources has limited our ability to share our analyses. To enhance transparency in our work, we are now using open data sources such as OpenAlex, which allow us to more easily share and integrate publication data with institutions and other data services
- Strengthening knowledge-sharing: the project demonstrated the value of transparent dialogue between ourselves, UKRI, and all higher education stakeholders. We will continue joint horizon scanning and community engagement, pooling our insights
- Institutional engagement: while most of our efforts focused on compliance, libraries expressed a desire for a broader conversation on how these activities feed into Jisc’s open research strategy
- Researcher engagement: direct outreach to researchers remains challenging for institutions. We plan to explore more targeted ways for our members to connect with them, for example leveraging academic networks and supporting local champions
- Interactive forums for developing communities of practice: webinars were well attended and offered a strong platform for engagement. We see scope to use workshops and breakout sessions in future, allowing more interactive sharing of experiences among our members
Future plans for the next generation of open access and open research
The project has sparked vital conversations about ensuring that the ability to share work openly is not restricted.
Our intention is to now look beyond UKRI’s policy to ensure that every UK researcher, regardless of their funding or discipline, can share their work as openly as possible.
Our intention is to now look beyond UKRI’s policy to ensure that every UK researcher, regardless of their funding or discipline, can share their work as openly as possible. The sector faces considerable financial pressures, and models based on article processing charges continue to exclude many, notably independent researchers and those in underfunded regions or institutions.
Moreover, open research, beyond articles, also remains a priority, considering the wider outputs from research such as data, code and software. Making this a reality demands cultural change across the sector. With the formal implementation project complete, we’ll embed several activities into our business-as-usual operations:
- Regular review of agreements: we are now shifting to next generation open access negotiations with a focus on equity, providing continued licensing and negotiation support
- Prioritising sustainability: the long-term practicalities for our members and cost containment remain top priorities. As a result, some existing transitional agreements may not be renewed, and we’ll need to monitor compliant routes. We’ll also continue to explore other approaches, including diamond and collective funding
- Ongoing data analysis: we will continue to support compliance checks through open policy finder and the Journal Checker Tool
- Infrastructure: through partnerships, such as with Open Access Switchboard and OpenAlex, we’ll continue advocating for improved data standards
- Guidance: we’re continuing to develop and refine services and institutional guidance, to plan for the next iteration of policies
Beyond compliance, our work has also facilitated conversations that align with UKRI’s vision for open research. This can be seen both in the wider engagement across disciplines including the arts and humanities, but also in researcher awareness of rights retention and copyright practices.
Yet numerous challenges remain to deliver transformation in equitable open access publishing, researcher recognition, and rights retention. UKRI’s policy is one lever among many in building a sustainable open research ecosystem. Ongoing partnership between funders, consortia, publishers, and research organisations is crucial to maintain momentum.
Resources and web guides
To help with the publication of open access articles, we’ve produced two web guides, one geared towards the needs of publishers and one for researchers. These web guides aim to outline clear guidance for publishing open access, helping the research sector to use funding strategically, investing in approaches that promote efficiency, and longer-term investment in open research, across the research ecosystem:
- Complying with the UKRI open access policy for researchers: articles
- Complying with the UKRI open access policy for publishers: articles
Find out more about our role in open access.
About the author
I am responsible and accountable for the strategic development and delivery of Jisc's licensing portfolio for research.
With my team we license and broker the best solutions with vendors and partners that deliver value and impact across research.