UKRI – monographs, book chapters, and edited collections

UKRI (EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, NERC, STFC, ESRC, AHRC, Innovate UK) monographs, book chapters and edited collections

This page covers UKRI’s policy on monographs, book chapters, and edited collections. For the UKRI policy applying to journal articles and conference proceedings, see UKRI articles. 

The policy below applies to in-scope outputs published from 1 January 2024 unless a contract has been signed before this date that prevents adherence to the policy. In these cases open access is encouraged.

Policy

The final published version or author’s accepted manuscript should be free to view and download via an online publication platform, publishers’ website, or institutional or subject repository within a maximum of 12 months of publication with a creative commons license. 

UKRI open access policy 

Routes to meeting open access requirements

GOLD Publish the final published version open access on the publisher’s webpage with a creative commons license. A book or chapter processing charge is required; see “paying for gold open access” below as UKRI will not always cover this fee. 

DIAMOND Some publishers will make the final published version freely available under an open license without charging an open access fee. This is typically called DIAMOND open access. These models are funded by contributions from various institutions including universities, and UKRI makes some funds available for this. Therefore if you are publishing an open access monograph, chapter, or edited collection under one of these models, please contact openaccess@imperial.ac.uk to let us know.

OR

GREEN Deposit the author’s accepted manuscript in a repository to be made available under a creative commons license within a maximum of 12 months of publication.  

Spiral, the College’s digital repository, is an appropriate repository for this purpose. 

Scope of policy

Funding

Authors required to acknowledge funding from UKRI or any of its constituent councils, (see UKRI’s guidance on acknowledging your funding), and publishing within seven years of the end of the relevant grant. 

Publications arising from UKRI training grants are exempt where the training grant is the only UKRI funding source acknowledged, but open access is encouraged. 

Publication types

Monographs, book chapters and edited collections are in scope. 

Trade books, scholarly editions, exhibition catalogues, scholarly illustrated catalogues, textbooks, and all types of fictional works and creative writing are out of scope. 

For definitions of these types, see annex 1 of the policy. 

Exceptions

The following exemptions may apply: 

• Where the only appropriate publisher, after liaison and consideration, is unable to offer an open access option that complies with UKRI’s policy. 
• Where reuse permissions for third-party materials cannot be obtained and there is no suitable alternative option available to enable open access publication. 

The above exemptions should only be used if absolutely necessary. 

For guidance on using these exemptions, see Annex 3 of the UKRI open access policy. 

Paying for GOLD open access

If you requested open access costs in your grant application, you should use the grant funds in the first instance. This should only apply for grant applications submitted before 31 October 2023.  

Otherwise: Centralised fund held by UKRI that research organisations apply for. 

For in-scope outputs, UKRI will contribute up to £10,000 for book processing charges and £1,000 for chapter processing charges (inclusive of VAT). Other restrictions may apply. 

Anticipated costs for clearing rights for third-party materials such as images should continue to be included in research funding applications where possible, but limited funding for this may be available from the UKRI fund. 

Funding applications are in two stages. 

1. At Stage 1 the research organisation registers the output(s) with UKRI. A publishing contract does not yet need to be signed. Stage 1 is open for applications from November 2023. 

Information requested at stage 1 includes: 

• type of publication 
• UKRI funding reference 
• end date of UKRI funding 
• author name(s) 
• author(s) ORCiD 
• title of publication 
• name of publisher 
• estimated cost (if known) 
• anticipated date of publication 
• whether the relevant UKRI grant is held at Imperial or at another organisation 
• if the relevant UKRI grant is not held at Imperial, the name of the grant-holding organisation. 

For book chapters only: 

• name(s) of the editor(s) of the collection where the chapter will be published 
• title of the edited collection where the chapter will be published. 

2. At Stage 2 the research organisation provides final confirmation of publication to allow UKRI to release funds. Stage 2 is open for applications from January 2024. 

Information requested at stage 2 includes: 

• date of publication 
• confirmation of open access publication, for example a uniform resource locator or digital object identifier 
• financial information and related invoices 
• any changes to the information provided at stage 1  

If you need to make a stage one application, or if you have any other questions, please contact openaccess@imperial.ac.uk 

No cost is associated with GREEN open access (self-archiving the author’s accepted manuscript). 

Required licence

CC BY preferred on all compliance routes, but any creative commons licence is permitted. 

OGL permitted where the output is subject to Crown Copyright. 

For information see Creative Commons licenses or The anatomy of a Creative Commons License (SWAY), or Jisc’s guidance on Publishing under the UKRI open access policy: copyright and Creative Common licences. 

UKRI’s requirements do not apply to third-party materials such as images, which can be included under a more restrictive licence or terms under which its use is permitted by the rightsholder, for example on an ‘all rights reserved’ basis. For more information, see Guidance on managing copyright under UKRI open access policy.