Open Access

Open Access Policy for Scholarly Research in Canada

• As of February 2015, the Canadian funding agencies (SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR) have endorsed open access for research publications.
• Grant recipients must make their peer-reviewed journal publications freely accessible within 12 months of publication.
• There are two options for compliance:
  • Option #1: Submit manuscripts to journals offering immediate open access or open access within 12 months.
  • Option #2: Archive the final peer-reviewed manuscript in a digital repository for free access within 12 months.
• Publishing costs in open access journals are eligible expenses.
• Grant recipients are responsible for determining publishers' copyright and archiving policies.
• Agencies must be acknowledged in peer-reviewed publications.
• The policy applies to peer-reviewed publications, not books, chapters, or data.

Useful Resources

• Tri-Agency Policy on Open Access.
• UofA Library's Guide to Open Access Publishing.
• SSHRC's Open Access Toolbox
• Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPAR®)
• Directory of Open Access Journals DOAJ 
• Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR)
• Sherpa RoMEO: Database of publisher policies on copyright and self-archiving
  
• Sherpa/Fact: Database to verify journal compliance with funding agency requirements