Birmingham Newman University Open Access Policy

Open Access is “making research publications freely available so anyone can benefit from reading and using research” (Jisc, 2019). Outputs must be made available in perpetuity and not hidden behind a paywall or other login.​

There are two main routes to Open Access, defined by Jisc as:​

• Green: an open access copy of the publication, or pre-print of a paper accepted for publication, is archived in an institutional or subject specific repository​.
• Gold: an open access copy of the publication is made available via the publisher’s website, often in return for an article processing charge being paid (Jisc, 2017)​

Open Access benefits society by making research open and accessible to all, promotes social justice and ensures equitable distribution of knowledge. As a University founded on Catholic principles, this closely aligns with our values.​

As well as allowing the widest possible dissemination and reuse of research outputs, Open Access can also benefit individual researchers and the institution by raising their profile.

Many research councils and other funding bodies seek to maximise the value of publicly funded research by making outputs openly available.

1.2.1 Why do we need an Open Access policy?​

• To support Birmingham Newman researchers to make their work openly available at every stage of their career, helping to increase the visibility and impact of their research.​
• To raise the profile of the institution by making Birmingham Newman University outputs more easily accessible, to the benefit of other researchers and wider society.
• To ensure that our approach to research dissemination is in line with our values of championing and giving voice to the Catholic traditions of education, equality, and social justice​.

1.2.2 Purpose of the policy​

This Open Access policy aims to:​

• Provide Birmingham Newman authors with guidance on how to make their work Open Access via both the Green and Gold routes.​
• Ensure that Birmingham Newman authors have a range of options available to enable them to make their research Open Access.
• Encourage authors to make licensing choices which will increase the impact and re-use of their work.​
• Support researchers to comply with funder policies on both a national and international level.​
• Facilitate Birmingham Newman authors to publish in the most appropriate venue for their research, providing this is not in conflict with their funder’s Open Access policy or with the requirements of REF2029 or any future research assessment exercise.​
• Remove as many barriers as possible to authors wishing to publish Open Access, including financial restrictions.​
• Promote the responsible use of publication metrics when choosing a publication venue.​