XClose

Library Services

Menu

Horizon 2020/ERC open access policy and funding

Publications funded in whole or in part by Horizon 2020 grants must meet the Horizon 2020 open access requirements. Find out how to comply, and what funding is available.

Guidance for outputs funded by Horizon Europe/ERC (2021-2027)

The Horizon 2020 open access policy applies to peer-reviewed scientific publications supported in whole or in part by these grants. This includes ERC calls for funding under the Horizon 2020 ERC Work Programme.

Peer-reviewed journal articles must be deposited in a repository on or before publication, and made open access within six months of publication (12 months for outputs in social sciences and humanities). Grant holders are strongly encouraged to make monographs and other research publications open access.

There is more information in the following guides:

The Horizon 2020 open access guidelines (page 7) require you to include specific information when you deposit in a repository. 

Complying with your funder's policy

Green open access

If you are publishing in a subscription journal, you can comply by uploading your final accepted manuscript to UCL's Research Publications Service (RPS), provided that the journal's embargo on Green open access is no longer than:

  • 12 months, for Social Sciences and Humanities papers
  • 6 months, for all other papers

Gold open access

You can comply by publishing in a fully open access journal, or in a subscription journal with a Gold open access option (known as a hybrid journal). You also need to upload the paper to UCL's Research Publications Service (RPS), or deposit in a repository such as Europe PubMed Central, arXiv or Zenodo, in order to meet the Horizon 2020 requirements.

Open access funding

UCL can only pay open access charges for peer-reviewed research articles and reviews funded by a Horizon 2020 grant where the paper:

  1. has a UCL corresponding author and the journal is included in UCL's transformative agreements or
  2. is eligible for funding from UCL's Wellcome Trust, UK Research Council (UKRI), CRUK and/or BHF funds.

Gold open access charges can be paid from Horizon 2020 grants, provided they are incurred during the duration of the project. The Open Research Europe platform is available to authors during and after the end of their grants.