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Papers funded in whole or in part by Versus Arthritis must meet Versus Arthritis's open access requirements. Find out how to check whether your chosen journal complies, and what funding is available.
The Versus Arthritis open access policy applies to original research papers funded by Versus Arthritis. These outputs must be made open access in PubMed Central within six months of publication. The policy does not apply to editorials, letters, commissioned reviews, scholarly monographs, conference proceedings or book chapters.
Complying with the policy
Use Sherpa Fact to check whether your chosen journal offers a compliant Green or Gold option. For additional clarification, check the journal website. If you are unsure whether your journal complies, contact UCL's Open Access Team before submission.
Green open access
If you are publishing in a subscription journal, provided that the journal's embargo on Green open access is no longer than 6 months you can comply by uploading your final accepted manuscript to Europe PubMed Central, using Europe PMC plus. Papers should also be uploaded to RPS.
Gold open access
If you are publishing in a subscription journal with a Gold open access option (known as a hybrid journal), or you are publishing in a fully open access journal, Gold open access will comply provided that the paper is published with the CC BY licence and the publisher will deposit the article in PubMed Central on publication.
Open access funding
UCL does not receive an open access grant from Versus Arthritis. The Charity Open Access Fund (COAF), which was previously able to pay the open access charges for some Versus Arthritis-funded papers, no longer exists.
UCL can only pay open access charges for peer-reviewed research articles and uncommissioned reviews funded by a UCL Versus Arthritis grant where the paper:
- has a UCL corresponding author and the journal is included in UCL's transformative agreements or
- is eligible for funding from UCL's Wellcome Trust, UK Research Council (UKRI), CRUK and/or BHF funds.
For other peer-reviewed primary research papers and non-commissioned review articles, you or your department will need to apply directly to Versus Arthritis, before placing any order for open access or submitting to a fully open access journal. If your paper is funded by any other funders, check whether they are able to contribute to the charges. In your application, confirm that UCL is unable to provide funding for your paper.
Conditions of payment
Some journals offer a choice of open access licences. If Versus Arthritis confirms that your paper can be funded, you must choose the CC BY licence.