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Open access for NHS staff

Advice on the UCL Discovery Plus service and open access for researchers at UCL's partner NHS Trusts.

The UCL Discovery Plus service enables staff at UCL's partner NHS Trusts to make their publications open access. Copyright permitting, articles, datasets, conference proceedings, book chapters, working papers, reports and other types of publication may be made openly available, through Green open access, using this service.

Open access publications in UCL Discovery Plus can be viewed by NHS Trust at the links below. These publications also appear, alongside UCL publications, in UCL Discovery.

FAQs

The FAQs below include information on how to deposit in UCL Discovery Plus, and on other open access options for staff at UCL's partner NHS Trusts.

Open access options for NHS staff

Depositing in UCL Discovery Plus

Funder requirements and open access funding

Open access options

I'm a member of staff at a UCL NHS partner trust. How can I make my outputs open access?

Members of staff at UCL's NHS partner trusts can make their outputs Green open access in UCL Discovery Plus. The staff member deposits the accepted manuscript version, which is then made available in the UCL Discovery Plus repository after the publisher's embargo period. There is more information about Green open access on our understanding open access page. See How do I deposit my outputs in UCL Discovery Plus?

In some circumstances, UCL funding may be available for Gold open access. This means making the final version of a publication freely available and reusable on the publisher's website, immediately on publication, usually under a Creative Commons licence. There is more information about Gold open access on our understanding open access page. See Are UCL funds available to pay for Gold open access?

Depositing in UCL Discovery Plus

How do I deposit my outputs in UCL Discovery Plus?

If your output is co-authored by a UCL staff member, and no funding is available for Gold open access, the UCL author should make the final accepted manuscript open access in UCL's repository, UCL Discovery, by uploading it to Research Publications Service (RPS). UCL's Open Access Team can then add the output to UCL Discovery Plus. To request this, contact UCL's Open Access Team. 

If your output has no UCL co-authors, e-mail the UCL Discovery Plus team. Please attach the author accepted manuscript and provide the following information: 

  • NHS Trust (GOSH, Moorfields, Royal Free, RNOH, UCLH or Whittington Health)
  • Publication type
  • Title
  • Publication date
  • Identifiers (eg DOI, ISBN, PubMed ID)

When should I deposit my outputs in UCL Discovery Plus?

UCL Discovery Plus accepts past and current publications. If your paper is funded it is usually best to deposit on or soon after acceptance. Your funder may also require you to deposit in Europe PMC.

Funder requirements and open access funding

Does my funder have an open access policy?

Most research funders require grantholders to make their publications open access. See our research funders page for information about funders' requirements and their Gold open access funding arrangements.

Are UCL funds available to pay for Gold open access?

Funding for Gold open access is available in certain circumstances, including for papers with UCL corresponding authors (including honorary members of staff, but not NHS staff without a UCL appointment) in journals in UCL’s transformative agreements; research papers in fully open access journals with UCL corresponding authors who are full UCL staff or research students; and papers that acknowledge certain research funders, where the grant is held at UCL.

To check whether a paper is eligible for UCL funding, follow the steps on our Open Access funding page.

Should I include open access costs in my grant applications?

Some research funders allow grant applicants to include open access costs in their applications. Many make provision for open access through open access grants to institutions, or through specific open access funding attached to grants. See our research funders page for links to some funders' policies, or review the terms and conditions for your application.

I want to submit to a fully open access journal but no funds are available. What can I do?

Fully open access journals publish all content Gold open access. Most operate a waiver scheme for situations where no funding is available. Before you submit, request a waiver from the journal.

How do I know whether a fully open access journal is trustworthy?

So-called predatory publishers exploit the Gold open access model, accepting most or all submitted research outputs for publication without adequate peer review, thus maximising the income generated from open access charges. Follow the guidance on the Think. Check. Submit. website to judge whether the journal is an appropriate place for your work.