MRC guidance on open access to published research
This guidance is based upon that of the Research Councils UK, and updated by the MRC on August 2010.
1. For applications submitted from 1 October 2006 the MRC requires that electronic copies of any research papers accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, which are supported in whole or in part by MRC funding, are deposited at the earliest opportunity – and certainly within six months – in UK PubMed Central (UKPMC).
2. This applies to all award holders, including MRC staff.
3. The availability of a research paper from UK PubMed Central (and other PMCI repositories) does not prevent authors from also depositing a copy in their own institutional or another subject-based repository should they choose to do so or be required to do so by their employing institution.
4. The MRC also encourages, but does not formally oblige, all award-holders and MRC staff to ensure deposit of articles arising from grants awarded as a result of applications submitted before 1 October 2006. Authors must ensure however that they comply with their publishers copyright and licensing policies.
5. The MRC strongly encourages authors to publish in journals that allow them (or their institutions) to retain ownership of the copyright. The MRC will pay ‘Author pays’ (article processing charges) where these have been included in applications for MRC grant funding. MRC Institutes and Units are already fully funded, and are expected to meet such costs out of their existing budgets.
6. If author/institution-ownership of copyright is not permitted by the publisher, authors should publish in journals that permit the paper to be made available in UKPMC and PMCI repositories within six months of publication. If a researcher wishes to publish a paper in a journal that is unwilling to agree either to author/institution ownership of copyright, or to allow the article to be made freely available from UKPMC and PMCI repositories within six months, the MRC may, in very exceptional cases, grant permission for authors to submit the paper for publication in such a journal.
7. The MRC will work with publishers to put in place mechanisms for publishers to deposit publications directly, on behalf of authors, where this is possible.
8. The MRC’s grant conditions have been amended to reflect the above changes.
9. From 1 January 2006, all applicants submitting funding proposals to the MRC are expected to include a statement explaining their strategy for data preservation and sharing. MRC data sharing policy indicates that, where possible, published results should provide links to the associated data.