Complying with the UKRI open access policy for publishers: articles
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Practical steps for publishers to ensure researchers can use UKRI open access funds to make their research immediately available.
Introduction
UKRI’s open access policy requires that all peer-reviewed research articles (including reviews and conference papers) submitted on or after 1 April 2022 must be made open access (OA) immediately on publication.
Since the policy launch, we have engaged with over 400 publishers to ensure that UKRI-funded authors can publish in the journal of their choice, with minimal friction. This guide outlines steps that you, as a publisher, can take to keep offering compliant publication options for UKRI-funded authors.
UKRI provides a block grant to eligible research organisations to support the implementation of its open access policy. This funding is designed to help institutions cover the costs associated with making research outputs openly available, including article processing charges (APCs), supporting transitional agreements or diamond open access publishing models, infrastructure, and administrative support. Research organisations are given flexibility in how they use the grant, allowing them to tailor their approach to local needs and priorities.
A companion version of this guide is also available for researchers.
Read our complying with the UKRI open access policy for researchers: articles guide.
Requirements for research articles
| Immediate OA, no embargo | Authors must be able to make their articles open access immediately on publication. They can achieve this via:
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| CC BY licence required | UKRI’s policy requires a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence for most articles, ensuring maximum reuse and visibility. CC0 is also permitted. CC BY-ND is an exception requiring explicit approval. |
| Data access statement | Authors must include a statement about how to access the data underlying their work, or explain why data cannot be openly shared. The UKRI guidance on making your research data open can help with this. |
Benefits to publishers of offering compliant options
Maintain access to block grants
If your journal does not provide a compliant route, UKRI-block grant cannot be used by institutions to fund publication via the payment of APCs.
Future-proof strategy
As with all UKRI funding, levels of support are subject to future UK government spending reviews. Publishers need to adapt for long-term sustainability, recognising the significant financial challenges that institutions currently face. Building multiple routes to compliance safeguards your publishing business from policy or funding changes.
What is eligible for block grant funding?
- Jisc-approved transitional agreements (TAs): publishers participating in TAs can receive funding through the UKRI block grant
- Fully OA journals and subscribe-to-open: these remain eligible for block grant APC coverage if they meet UKRI’s licensing and immediate OA availability criteria
What is not eligible for block grant funding?
- Transformative journals (TJs) no longer covered: block grants cannot be used for articles submitted after 31 December 2024
- Hybrid journals outside TAs: if your hybrid journal is not part of a Jisc-approved TA, authors or their institution cannot use the block grant to pay for APCs to publish open access in subscription journals
Practical steps for publishers
1. Offer affordable choices
We continue to review the financial sustainability of agreements. In 2025, we enter negotiations for next generation open access, with a focus on fair, equitable and sustainable agreements that meet the evolving needs of UK universities and the research community.
- Agreements that do not meet these needs may be cancelled, or institutions may opt-out
- Collaborate with us to ensure your APCs or deals are priced so institutions can continue to participate
- If institutions withdraw, let authors know they can still comply via other routes: offering a green route or title-by-title OA ensures all UK researchers can still publish in your journal
We continue to review the financial sustainability of agreements. In 2025, we enter negotiations for next generation open access, with a focus on fair, equitable and sustainable agreements that meet the evolving needs of UK universities and the research community.
- Agreements that do not meet these needs may be cancelled, or institutions may opt-out
- Collaborate with us to ensure your APCs or deals are priced so institutions can continue to participate
- If institutions withdraw, let authors know they can still comply via other routes: offering a green route or title-by-title OA ensures all UK researchers can still publish in your journal
2. Provide CC BY (or CC0)
- Make the licensing workflow straightforward, ideally making CC BY the default for UKRI-funded authors
- If CC BY-ND is necessary for the type of research, direct authors to the UKRI exception process
- Make the licensing workflow straightforward, ideally making CC BY the default for UKRI-funded authors
- If CC BY-ND is necessary for the type of research, direct authors to the UKRI exception process
3. Promote your compliant routes
- Clearly state gold or green routes on your journal website, in submission guidelines, and in author communications
- Indicate if you have a Jisc-approved TA, so authors understand they can publish open access in compliance with the UKRI policy
- Transformative journals are no longer a compliant route. Ensure webpages, submission guidelines, and any other author communications are up to date
- Clearly state gold or green routes on your journal website, in submission guidelines, and in author communications
- Indicate if you have a Jisc-approved TA, so authors understand they can publish open access in compliance with the UKRI policy
- Transformative journals are no longer a compliant route. Ensure webpages, submission guidelines, and any other author communications are up to date
4. Provide a choice of streamlined open access routes compliant green or gold
- Update your workflow or automated messaging to confirm that authors can deposit the AAM or VoR with no embargo under a CC BY licence
- Do not remove rights retention statements from manuscripts
- Update your workflow or automated messaging to confirm that authors can deposit the AAM or VoR with no embargo under a CC BY licence
- Do not remove rights retention statements from manuscripts
5. Simplify author workflows
- Provide clear, accurate funding and licence metadata so authors know their options
- Make policy checks easy by linking to tools like open policy finder or journal checker tool
- Aim for frictionless submission experiences so authors don’t worry about complex OA policies
- Provide clear, accurate funding and licence metadata so authors know their options
- Make policy checks easy by linking to tools like open policy finder or journal checker tool
- Aim for frictionless submission experiences so authors don’t worry about complex OA policies
Checklist
Use this checklist to confirm your journal’s readiness to support UKRI-funded authors:
- CC BY or CC0 is the default for UKRI-funded articles
- CC BY-ND only offered with explicit UKRI approval, obtained by the author or their research organisation
- Where offered clearly signpost the zero embargo green OA route (AAM or VoR)
- Jisc-approved TA status displayed on your website or author info pages if applicable
- References to transformative journals as a compliant route removed from all author-facing materials
- Links to open policy finder or journal checker tool included
- Authors’ rights retention statements are not removed
- Clear information that authors must include a data access statement in final articles
- Metadata on funding sources and licences is kept up to date and shared to support compliance checks
Further information
Take a look at our complying with the UKRI open access policy for publishers guide.
Contact
For help and guidance on the above, please contact us by phone 020 3006 6088 or email help.digitalresources@jisc.ac.uk