Due to increased pressure on the Open Access block grants and the introduction of a number of new Read & Publish-style agreements, the University has introduced a new set of principles on the allocation of support for Open Access funding.

The principles, were formally approved by Senate on 16 June 2021 and reflect the approach already being taken by the Library. The full principles are available, along with contextual information to explain the reasons behind the change to the previous policy of ‘first come, first served’ and a summary guide for corresponding authors. They will be applied to all centrally administered funds and departments are encouraged to consider adopting a similar approach.

The new principles give priority for funding / support to:

• original research articles or uninvited / non-commissioned review articles where the funder's Open Access policy requires that these are made open access
• papers where the corresponding author has a contract of employment with the University (and would be eligible for the Research Excellence Framework exercise – REF-after-REF2021)
• article processing charges (APCs). Page and colour charges will no longer be covered, and publishing fees will be considered on a case-by-case basis
• APCs in fully Open Access journals, although the University may authorise payment of APCs for hybrid journals where there is no 'green' (self-archiving) route to compliance with the funder's policy

APCs will not be paid:

• for funded authors publishing in hybrid journals with a ‘green’ route to compliance
• where an APC would not be paid by the funder – for example, centrally administered OA funds would not be used to pay for a Wellcome Trust funded paper to be published Open Access in a hybrid journal, as this would not be eligible for support from the Wellcome block grant

Requests from current students wishing to use the University’s Read & Publish agreements will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may require and additional supporting statement from the Head of Department. Emeritus, visiting and NHS staff will be excluded by default, although exceptions may be made with suitable supporting evidence. All papers acknowledging UKRI and / or the Wellcome Trust will be considered eligible for Read & Publish agreements as long as the corresponding author is affiliated to Warwick.

The Library will continue to support authors to find the most appropriate route to Open Access and to enable as many authors as possible to make their work openly available within the framework of the principles. If you have any questions about Open Access, please contact openaccessfund at warwick dot ac dot uk.