The full requirements of the REF 2029 Open Access policy can be found here. All outputs included in the submission, and which are in scope of the Open Access policy, must meet the requirements of the policy.
We have provided a summary of these requirements on our REF Open Access Guide.
Act on acceptance, and deposit your Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) in DRO via the Staff Profile system. This will ensure compliance with the REF 2029 Open Access policy, and the University’s Open Access Policy.
DRO Team members will check each individual copyright agreement for any embargo details and, if necessary, close-off access to the deposited paper until the embargo expires.
Deposit your accepted manuscript in Durham Research Online (DRO) by:
The DRO Team will check and update the output record, check the publisher's repository policy and deposit your manuscript file.
In line with Durham University's Open Access Policy, and our guidance on publication planning, authors should carefully consider the most appropriate journal in which to publish their research. This consideration should include consideration of what options the journal provides to authors to make their research open access, and any requirements of the funder(s) of that research.
All journal articles and conference papers authored by a Durham author since 1 April 2023 are covered by the University's Research Publications Policy, which aims to ensure authors have the option to retain sufficient rights to share their Author Accepted Manuscript under an open licence and immediately upon publication (and so meet the requirements of the REF 2029 Open Access policy).
Where a publisher requires an author to seek an opt out from the requirements of this policy, or their funder, author's should also check the embargo period the publisher enforces (if any) for any manuscript deposited in an open access repository, before it can be made publicly available.
Before submitting to a journal you should check and consider what your options are for green and/or gold open access and whether these options comply with the open access policies of REF, the University and your funder.
If you want advice on whether a particular journal will meet the REF requirements for your discipline, do contact the Library at dro.admin@durham.ac.uk and you will receive a response from a member of the Open Access team. Please provide as much information as possible so that you receive information that is relevant to your particular needs.
All journal articles, and papers published in a conference proceedings with an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), which were published on or after the 1st January 2021.
The policy does not cover proceedings published as a book, with an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). However, Durham's policy is that outputs of all types should be deposited in DRO. The University can demonstrate where and how they have gone beyond the minimum requirements and highlight best practice and innovative approaches for publication within the People, Culture and Environment element of their submission.
PARA 3.2.3 of the REF 2029 Open Access policy confirms that:
No. Outputs other than articles and conference proceedings are still eligible for submission to the REF. The Open Access policy does not apply to outputs such as monographs and other long-form publications, non-text outputs, and data that underpins some research. Therefore, these types of output do not have to be made Open Access.
However, Durham's policy is that outputs of all types should be deposited in DRO. The University can demonstrate where and how they have gone beyond the minimum requirements and highlight best practice and innovative approaches for publication within the People, Culture and Environment element of their submission.
Research England and the other UK Higher education funding bodies have confirmed they plan to bring in requirements for long form publications (authored books, book chapters and edited collections) from the 1 January 2029, for any subsequent REF exercise.
No other output types are required to meet the requirements set out in the REF 2029 Open Access Policy.
Whilst earlier plans had been to extend requirements to several output types, it has now confirmed that the requirements will not apply to the following output types until at least January 2029 (after the current REF period):
There is also no requirement for outputs underpinning REF Impact Case Studies to meet the requirements of the REF 2029 Open Access Policy.
However, REF 2029 encourages the University to demonstrate where and how they have gone beyond the minimum requirements and highlight best practice and innovative approaches for publication within the People, Culture and Environment element of their submission.
The Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM),refers to the final peer-reviewed text which may otherwise be known as the ‘author manuscript’, which may also be called ‘final author version’ or ‘post-print’. Pre-print versions of outputs other than where these are the AAM do not meet the requirements of this policy [PARA 4.0.3].
Often the AAM is a Word version of your publication. Most publishers will allow the AAM to be deposited in an institutional or subject repository, subject to an embargo period. Note that the final published PDF (the version that appears on the publishers website, sometimes called the 'version of record') cannot usually be deposited in DRO, unless an article processing charge (APC) has been paid for Gold open access.
The diagram below was used in the guidance for REF 2021, and we include it here as a visual aid.
The REF 2029 Open Access Policy defines the 'Date of Acceptance' as meaning:
This is the point at which the author is notified that:
By this point, the paper should have been updated to include all changes resulting from peer review as well as any changes of an academic nature requested by the journal editor or conference organiser.
We recognise that in some disciplines, the acceptance date may not be clear. Where a 'date of acceptance' is unknown, or unclear, the author should endeavour to deposit their manuscript which incorporates changes resulting from peer review in Durham Research Online (DRO) at the earliest opportunity.
If later revisions are made to the manuscript, a 'revised manuscript' may also be added to the record:
Some researchers are concerned that they may have difficulty getting hold of the accepted manuscript version of their paper to deposit in Durham Research Online (DRO) where they are not corresponding author. This is more likely in an environment where the corresponding author is based overseas and unfamiliar with the funder requirements for Open Access in the UK.
Please note: Open Access is not a UK initiative alone, and whilst the REF 2029 Open Access policy is specific to the UK HE sector, the use of open access journals and repositories is not unique to the UK. Globally, there are almost 1,000 policies registered with Roarmaps, only 120 of which are for the UK; Many of these are registered by universities which provide their own open access repository.
Authors should consider the advice received by Durham by Research England in May 2018, which is outlined below with context and remains valid:
The REF Open Access policy specifies a number of ‘exceptions’ to the REF Open Access requirements; circumstances affecting the ability of an author to deposit their manuscript in their repository on time (or at all) and make it open access within the embargo deadline. Exception 252b [now PARA 6.13 AND 8.14] states: The individual whose output is being submitted to the REF experienced a delay in securing the final peer-reviewed text (for instance, where a paper has multiple authors).
If this exception is to be used, the following questions should be considered and you will need to preserve evidence (emails) as to why the chosen exception route was suitable, to satisfy REF audit requirements:
Authors are encouraged to engage with co-authors at the earliest opportunity to explain the expectations, and identify any concerns or issues which may be addressed in advance of needing to meet deadlines for the REF.
Any questions from Durham researchers or their co-authors should be directed to dro.admin@dur.ac.uk.
All outputs should be deposited in Durham Research Online (DRO) within 3 months of the Date of Acceptance, in line with Durham University Open Access Policy.
‘Gold’ open access usually means the immediate, permanent, and free to access availability of the published version of record on the publisher’s website and with a licence that permits copying and reuse.
The REF 2029 Open Access Policy has confirmed that:
However, it is a requirement on the university to be able to confirm that outputs were available immediately after publication via the gold route, were not made open access after publication, and meet all other requirements of re-use.
Some journals may make an article "free" to access for various reasons.
However, this often does not meet the recognised definitions of open access and will not meet the REF requirements. A journal may withdraw the 'free' access at anytime, and continuing access and re-use permissions are not guaranteed. It is important that an article is accompanied by a clear use of an open access licence, indicating re-use permissions are granted for the article.
The REF 2029 Open Access policy requires authors to deposit their Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) in to an 'appropriate platform'.
These include [PARA 4.0.5]:
An author's personal website, ResearchGate, Academia, and Sci-Hub are not considered an appropriate platform.
No. The REF 2029 Open Access policy has not provided a list of acceptable subject repositories. However, not all repositories capture sufficient data (e.g. date of deposit or access) to be able to evidence a publication meets the requirements of the policy. You can ensure compliance by depositing your Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) in to DRO upon acceptance.
ResearchGate, Academia, and Sci-Hub are not subject repositories and would not meet the requirements of the policy.
The arXiv (and other pre-print servers, such as bioRxiv) are now considered to be an 'appropriate platform' under the policy, but if used to meet the requirements of the policy it will need to be possible to clearly evidence that the version available is the accepted manuscript (AAM) version (or version of record (VoR), and that this was deposited in line with the policy requirements.
During REF 2021, a significant concern was that manuscripts deposited in the arXiv had been deposited several weeks or months prior to the date a journal recorded as when the article had been accepted for publication; please ensure that once an article has been accepted for publication, that this version is added to the arXiv record.
To be certain an output to be included as part of a UoA's REF submission, an author must be certain (and be able to confirm to their REF lead in their UoA) that:
Authors should still create a record for the publication in Worktribe so this can be included in the REF preparations, will appear on their staff profile, and can be added to Durham Research Online.
Following this guidance will mean that you not only comply with the REF requirements, but also Durham's open access policy, and possibly also that of your research funder.
There is not currently a specific set of FAQs relating to the REF 2029 Open Access Policy provided by the UK Higher education Funding Bodies, but if one is provided (as was the case for REF 2021) we will include a link on this page.
If the answer to your question is not on these pages , please email dro.admin@durham.ac.uk.