Research Councils UK (RCUK) Open Access Policy Open for Comments
On June 28, the Research Councils UK (RCUK) published its long-awaited open-access policy for public comment. The comment period ends on August 31, 2005. The policy mandates open access and it applies to all publicly funded research (not just biomedicine).
Research Councils are the first public funding agencies in any country to mandate OA to the results of agency-funded research. The first private funding agency to do so was the Wellcome Trust, also from the UK. By chance, the two policies will take effect on the same date, October 1, 2005. The two precedents together make the UK a leader in the worldwide campaign for open access.
SPARC Open Access Newsletter, #87, July 2, 2005 <http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/07-02-05.htm>
