Assessing the implications of UKRI’s OA policy

In 2021 UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UK’s leading research funder, launched its new open access (OA) policy. The policy aims to increase opportunities for access, sharing, and reuse of research outputs. It sits in the wider context of an increased investment from the UK government in R&D as part of its plans to build back better following the COVID-19 pandemic. An outcome of a three-year review process, the policy was finalized and published on 6th August 2021, after receiving 350 responses over the course of a year-long consultation.

Research Consulting was commissioned by the Copyright Clearance Centre, Inc., to explore the implications of UKRI’s new policy on OA publications for all stakeholders in the scholarly communications landscape.

This work included the chairing of a panel discussion with speakers representing funders, libraries and publishers as part of CCC’s Town Hall program. This included an outline of the policy and its key changes for publishers and researchers from Rachel Bruce, UKRI Head of Open Research. The event was viewed by over 350 stakeholders. An accompanying blog post (titled ‘Five things you need to know about the UKRI OA policy’) was later published on The Scholarly Kitchen blog.