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Open Access (OA) means that research outputs are made available online, in a digital format, at no charge to the reader and with limited restrictions on re-use.

There are two main routes to Open Access:

• Green OA is when you publish in a subscription based journal and make the author accepted manuscript (AAM) available in a repository, with any required embargo period applied. Sherpa Romeo provides details of journals that support Green Open Access.
• Gold OA is when you publish in a hybrid or OA journal and the published version of record is made immediately and permanently available at the point of publication at no charge to the reader. Article Processing Charges (APCs) may apply. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) lists Gold Open Access only journals.

An Article Processing Charge (APC) is a fee charged by publishers to individuals or institutions wishing to publish their article in a journal which uses the Gold Open Access model. The benefit of this model is that anyone can read the research from the publisher's website for free, but the cost of the APC has to be considered. Please contact your Director of Research for guidance on APC funding available in your School.

Leeds Beckett University has agreements with the following publishers which may mean your APC is discounted or free:

• BioMed Central (BMC): 15% discount on APCs when the Leeds Beckett prepay membership account is used. This discount is available if your school has deposited funds into the account.
• PLOS: LBU authors have access to unlimited publishing, at no additional charge, in PLOS ONE, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases and PLOS Genetics. Follow these guidelines when submitting.
• Sage: Corresponding authors publishing an article in 900+ subscription journals in the current SAGE Premier package, the IMechE Journal Collection and the Royal Society of Medicine Collection, can be published open access, free of charge. Corresponding authors publishing in gold open access journals will receive 20% discount on the APC.
• ​Springer: Selected Open Choice journals have a waived APC. When your article has been accepted, select Leeds Beckett University as your institution and you will receive confirmation that your charge has been reduced to £0.
• Wiley: From 01 January 2021 authors affiliated with UK institutions participating in Wiley’s new Jisc agreement (including Leeds Beckett) may publish primary research and review articles in any of Wiley’s fully Gold Open Access or Wiley’s hybrid (subscription), OnlineOpen journals without having to pay the APC directly. Instead, this will be taken from a shared fund for participating UK (Jisc) institutions, until the fund is exhausted.

​Please contact us for further information on how to access these discounts.

Leeds Beckett University has a new Open Research Policy, which sets out our commitment to making the products of our research (both outputs and research data) publicly available.

Plan S

Plan S is an initiative to support Open Access Publishing. From January 2021, all Wellcome Trust funded research must be made available through Open Access immediately and without embargo. Other funders are likely to implement Plan S later in 2021. Further information can be found on the Plan S website.

UKRI Open Access consultation

UKRI is due to announce its new Open Access policy in early summer 2021. The current proposal covers journal articles and the introduction of Open Access requirements for monographs.

The next REF

The REF 2021 Open Access Policy continues for the next REF, until another policy is announced. The policy for the next REF may be influenced by both Plan S and the new UKRI policy.

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