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Open Access: Financial Support for Open Access APCs

Open Access Library Guide

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

Article Processing Charges - Gold Open Access Support

Paying Article Processing Charges for UKRI (RCUK) Funded Research

Complete an online application form to apply for APC financial support. 

We will contact you to initiate the payment process with the publisher if we approve your request. We usually pay APCs via secure credit card link once we have an invoice.

 

The Library has funding from an UKRI* block grant to pay article processing charges. This grant will enable authors to comply with their funder's open access policy. Annual grant awards are made to the University and we provide financial support to researchers on a first come, first served basis. More information about the UKRI open access policy and the current version of the FAQ section (May 2019) can be found on their website.

*UKRI (formerly RCUK) includes AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC, MRC, NERC, and STFC.

To qualify for funding from the UKRI open access fund:

  • Your research must be funded by UKRI and your eligible paper must be a peer reviewed journal article or conference proceeding.
  • You must use a gold open access route. This means that the paper is available for immediate unrestricted online access at no cost to the end user.
  • The corresponding author or grant holder must be a current member of Swansea University. 
  • Apply for funding when your article is accepted for publication and provide documentation to support the application (acceptance email). We also require you to upload the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) when submitting a request.
  • The journal should use a creative commons CC-BY licence, which allows downloading and the use of text and data mining tools. It should also allow immediate deposit in other repositories. This can be checked using the Sherpa FACT compliance tool or by checking the journal's OA web page.
  • Please comply with all of the funder's requirements, for example, EPSRC now require a 'Data Access Statement' in all publications. You must acknowledge the UKRI grant in your article and include the grant number. Examples of funder acknowledgment and data access statements are available from our Open Access FAQs.
  • You are required to create a record in the Research Information System (RIS) with a copy of the accepted manuscript upon acceptance for publication. You should upload the publisher's pdf version of record to Cronfa as soon as possible after publication.
  • We do not accept applications for retrospective conversion to gold open access for articles that are already published.  Please contact the open access team to discuss issues with specific publications. The decision to deviate from the stated policy (FAQ3.6) lies with the research organisation.

Where we are able to reduce the cost of publishing Gold OA in subscription (hybrid) journals via offsetting deals or membership schemes, the information is available on the 'Publisher Discount' tab on this page.

 
Do you have an APC query? Get in touch via:

Email 

Phone +44 (0)1792 604567                           

Postal Address:

Open Access
Library Research Support Team
Singleton Park Library
Swansea University
Swansea
United Kingdom
SA2 8PP

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Which licence should I pick?

What licenses are compliant with the UKRI (RCUK) OA policy? 

The open access policy stipulates that all publications arising from UKRI funded research must either be available as immediate open access (gold route) or a copy of the author's accepted manuscript must be placed in the repository, Cronfa with an acceptable embargo period and licence (green route).

Gold Route - (immediate open access):
Where an APC is paid, it is a requirement that the licence applied is CC-BY.

Green Route - (deposit of the final accepted manuscript in a repository, usually with an embargo):
The UKRI (RCUK) preference is for CC-BY, however, the formal requirement is that the licence places no restriction on non-commercial reuse, including non-commercial text-and data-mining. The licence should also allow for the sharing of adaptations of the material. This means a CC-BY-NC licence, or equivalent is acceptable.
A CC-BY-NC-ND licence is not compliant.

  • Embargo periods of 12 months are permissible for Arts, Humanities and Social Science journals and 6 months for Science, Technology, Engineering and Medical Journals for authors choosing the green route.

Open Government Licence (OGL) - Crown Body employees.

Publisher Discounts for Swansea University Researchers

The Library has signed up to several deals with publishers that discount the cost of Gold Open Access. Authors should also note that some learned societies and publishers also offer discounts to individual members.

  • Check for details when you select to pay an APC.
  • You may also be eligible to apply a subscribing institution discount by selecting 'Swansea University' if prompted from a list of institutions. For example, the American Chemical Society.
MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

An Open Access publisher across all disciplines

  • Standard APCs: variable cost
  • Institutional Membership: 10% discount for all Swansea University corresponding authors

In the MDPI submission system, authors must select Swansea University to get a 10% discount. You will be asked to confirm if you are eligible for UKRI (RCUK) funding. If you are not eligible you will still receive the discount but will need to pay the APC from your own budget or grant.  For UKRI financial support apply in the first instance using the Swansea University gold APC online form.

Springer Open Access Agreement for UK authors
 
(Swansea University institutional members)

Eligible Open Choice subscription based titles can be published for free via the UK Springer Open Access Agreement. Click on the page link to check the list of Open Choice eligible subscription-based journals covered by the UK open access agreement

Application Checklist

The corresponding author may apply using the Springer portal (My Publication) which will initiate an approval process between the university and the publisher.  This is applicable for these article types: original paper, review paper, brief communication or continuing education.

1. Corresponding authors should select the eligible institutional name.
2. Corresponding authors should use their Swansea University email address.
3. Try to submit from the institution's network (IP range).

There is no need to complete a request via the Swansea University UKRI  APC online form.

Wiley Open Access Services:

Institutional members may request access to the discounted pre-payment scheme for UKRI (RCUK) funded papers.

In the first instance, upon acceptance for publication, apply for financial support using the Swansea University UKRI gold APC online form.

If approved, you may initiate the Wiley open access order via the OnlineOpen mechanism.

  • This will trigger a completion process between the university and the publisher.
  • No Wiley invoice is required. 

The Wiley pre-pay account is not suitable for authors accessing College funding.
Detailed Wiley author guidance here 

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Unfunded Research and Gold APCs

Open Access Costs for Unfunded Research

The university does not maintain a centrally administered APC fund, however some Colleges have limited budgets for supporting REF eligible publications for their academic research staff.  

  • Approach your College to enquire if funding is available for gold open access. 
  • Apply when your paper is accepted for publication and before the paper is published. No retrospective applications will be considered. 
  • VAT is applicable to all APC invoices at the rate of 20%. Foreign invoices are subject to a reverse charge transaction.

For a list of applicable criteria and an application form please contact the appropriate person in your College.

Engineering 
Medicine
Human and Health Sciences 
Management

Green and Gold Routes to OA

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