Open Access and Institutional Repository: Introduction

There are many reasons to make your work available via Open Access, including:

• Open Access makes research available to far more people than a subscription-only journal article does, this can facilitate the spread of ideas and research collaboration 
• Open Access encourages public engagement with research
• Your funding body may have a mandate which requires you to make your research available via Open Access
• AECC University College has a Open Access Policy which requires researchers to upload a version of their article into our institutional repository where possible
• If you are working towards a REF submission, REF 2021 policy states that, to be eligible for submission to the REF2021, authors’ final peer-reviewed manuscripts (journal articles and conference proceedings with an ISSN) must have been deposited in an institutional or subject repository on acceptance for publication.

The Report of the Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings, which was led by Dame Janet Finch and published in June 2012 concluded that open access is the best way to expand access to published research findings. The report provides some background to the development of open access publishing in Higher Education.