Many research funders and institutions worldwide have introduced policies requiring authors to make their research openly accessible, whether through immediate open access publication, or through archiving a version of their manuscript in a repository. An increasing number of these policies apply to monographs and chapters in edited collections. Follow our open access checklist to help you meet the requirements of your funders and institutions, and identify potential sources of book processing charge (BPC) or chapter processing charge (CPC) funding if you are publishing OA.
When applying for research funding, consider:
Budgeting for OA
Check whether your funder allows or requires you to budget for OA publication charges within your research grant application. Learn more about OA funding options.
When preparing your manuscript for submission, check:
Funder and institution requirements
Check the OA policies of your research funder and institution – are you required to publish via the immediate (gold) OA route, under a specific licence, or to archive a version of your manuscript (green OA)? Learn more about identifying OA policies and about common OA requirements.
OA policies OA requirements
Publisher policies
Check publisher OA policies for the type of content you are publishing – will the OA options, licences, and self-archiving policies allow you to meet your funder’s and institution’s OA policy requirements? Learn more about OA policies for Springer and Palgrave Macmillan books.
OA books policies
BPC/CPC funding options
Check BPCs or CPCs and identify sources of funding – what OA funding is available from your institution and/or funder, and when do you need to apply? Learn more about identifying OA funding options and check our list of OA funding sources.
BPC/CPC funding conditions
Check whether your chosen publisher’s policies meet your OA publications with a CC BY licence. Learn more about common OA funding restrictions.
After acceptance for publication, check:
License Choice
If your funder or institution has specific licensing requirements, have you selected a licence that meets these conditions? Learn more about meeting licence requirements and OA licensing for Springer and Palgrave Macmillan books.
Self-archiving
Confirm what needs to be done to meet any self-archiving requirements of your funder and/or institution – which version of the book/chapter needs to be archived and where? Will the publisher be depositing the work on your behalf? Learn more about meeting self-archiving and manuscript deposition requirements and about Springer and Palgrave Macmillan’s self-archiving policies.
Further resources
Research funders and institutions may have additional open access requirements that are not covered by this checklist. We advise all authors to check open access policies on their funder and institutional websites for full details of applicable requirements.
If you have any feedback on our OA checklist or suggestions for how we can further support your OA publishing experience with us, please let us know at OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com. For any other general questions about OA book publishing at Springer Nature, please contact ORSupport@springernature.com.
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