2024-04-25 REF 2029 open access policy Oxford consultation
The four UK higher education funding bodies have launched their consultation on the Open Access Policy for Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029. The open access policy will outline open access requirements for the exercise. There are revised requirements for journals and conference proceedings, and new requirements for longform publications.
The purpose of the consultation is to gather a deeper understanding of sector perspectives on key issues and impacts in relation to the policy proposals. The University will be developing an institutional consultation response; individuals and sector groups are also able to submit responses.
Timeline
- The consultation opened on Monday 18 March 2024 and will close at midday on Monday 17 June 2024.
- Following this consultation, the REF funding bodies will develop and implement the final REF 2029 open access policy.
- The final REF 2029 open access policy will be published in the summer/autumn of 2024.
- It is proposed that the new policy will apply to journal articles and conference proceedings published from 1 January 2025, and longform outputs published from 1 January 2026.
What can I do?
Policy feedback needs to be with your respective OASG representative by close of play Tuesday 7 May 2024.
Contact your Open Access Steering Group representative within your division
The REF funding bodies are running a series of consultation events. There will be a range of events: some will focus on the specific issues of particular bodies or groups affected by the proposals, and others will give a more general overview.
The details below are proposals and are not confirmed.
For full details please see the REF 2029 open access consultation site
Outputs published in journals that immediately and irrevocably make the final published version (version of record) freely available to read, and do so with an appropriate open access licence, will automatically comply with the REF open access policy.
Outputs compliant with the UKRI open access policy will automatically comply with the REF open access policy.
Check the UKRI open access policy
- All other journal articles and conference proceedings in scope of the policy will need to be open access within one month of publication, or at the end of an embargo period no longer than six months (Main panels A and B) or 12 months (Main panels C and D).
- There is no longer a need to deposit on acceptance, but the embargo periods are shorter than in REF 2021.
- There are a range of allowable exceptions where open access is not possible due to issues such as the use of unlicensable third-party content, or relating to the author's employment status with the institution on the date of publication.
This policy applies to outputs submitted as Type A (books), Type B (chapters), Type C (edited books) and Type R (scholarly editions) and is new for REF 2029. The policy does not apply to trade books (defined as an academic monograph or edited collection rooted in original scholarship that has a broad public audience). The policy will only apply to outputs published after 1 January 2026.
Outputs where the final published version (version of record) is immediately and irrevocably freely available to read, with an appropriate open access licence, will automatically comply with the REF open access policy.
Other in-scope longform outputs must be made available to freely read, download and search no longer than 24 months after the date of publication. They must have one of the specified licences, but can exclude third party materials if licensing can’t be obtained.
There are a range of allowable exceptions where open access is not possible. These include where the only appropriate publisher is unable to offer an open access option that complies with the REF policy; reuse permissions for third-party materials cannot be obtained and there is no suitable alternative option; and a range of issues relating to the author's employment status with the institution on the date of publication. There will be a tolerance band of 10% for non-compliance at UOA submission level.
Research England recognises that the policy is likely to apply to a limited number of outputs due to:
- The short time between policy implementation and the final submission date.
- Longer lead times for publication compared to journal articles.
- Embargo periods.
- Application of exceptions and tolerance band.
Open access relates to and is a part of a wider whole of open research. This consultation is focussed on the open access policy, i.e. the rules and requirements for eligible outputs which are in scope of the open access requirements for submission. There may be other provisions relating to open research more broadly within the PCE element of the exercise.
