Open Science Policies - Open Access Policy

Scientific articles, books, book chapters and monographs, and master's dissertations and doctoral theses.

The following articles are considered scientific articles subject to the obligation to publish in open access:

• Accepted for publication following peer review or scientific validation processes, including review articles and conference papers.

Preprints , particularly those subject to a peer review process, facilitate scientific collaboration and are an instrument for the rapid and comprehensive dissemination of Science.

However, there are challenges and concerns to consider when dealing with these peer reviewed preprints. One of them is practical and has to do with the fact that it is sometimes very difficult to verify whether a preprint has been subject to peer review . On the other hand, it is equally difficult to determine the solidity and seriousness of the peer review processes associated with a preprint , since, unlike what happens, for example, with articles published in journals, they do not have an editorial decision that, in a certain way, validates the peer review .

For this type of consideration, peer reviewed preprints are not subject to open access policies of similar entities of the FCT.

Thus, although the relevance of peer reviewed preprints is recognized and it is considered that, once the practical difficulties highlighted have been overcome, they should be the subject of the Policy, at this stage, their inclusion could contribute to the discrediting of the Policy, with a real risk that it would endorse content that does not have the quality and scientific solidity that is expected following a serious peer review process.

There are three possible paths to compliance with the open access policy:

Golden Route – Publication of the article in an open access journal or platform

Via Verde – Deposit of article published in closed access in an open access repository of the RCAAP network

Transformative Path – Publication of the article in a hybrid journal under a transformative agreement

On the Policy support website, developed by the FCT, it is possible to consult the Journal Checker Tool: Plan S Compliance Validator , in order to obtain information on the available avenues for open access publication, entering the name of the journal in which you intend to publish, the name of the funder, in this case the FCT, and the name of the institution to which you are affiliated.

In cases where the article is published in an open access journal or platform.

In these cases, payment of a publication fee, commonly known as Article Processing Charge (APC), may be required. This price may be considered an eligible expense under the FCT financing instrument.

When the item:

a) is published in a closed access journal

b) is published in a hybrid journal, outside the context of a transformative agreement

c) It is not published in a scientific journal, but is subject to a peer review process

When the article is published under a transformative agreement in a hybrid journal.

FCT enters into transformative agreements within the scope of the Online Knowledge Library (b-on) initiative with several publishers. The possibility of open access publishing under these agreements is limited to authors linked to one of the institutions adhering to b-on. The list of these institutions is available here: Members (b-on.pt) .

These transformative agreements allow for open access publishing, with limits that vary from publisher to publisher. Information on the characteristics of each agreement can be found here Open Access (b-on.pt) .

Publication via this route is also possible within the framework of transformative agreements eventually entered into by entities other than the FCT and which cover within their scope the institution to which the author is linked.

The possibility of publishing in open access in hybrid journals is also possible outside the framework of a transformative agreement, in which case such publication implies the payment of a price (APC). The payment of this APC is, in these situations, strongly discouraged and, therefore, APCs paid outside the framework of a transformative agreement in hybrid journals are not considered as eligible expenses in FCT's financing instruments. The aim is to avoid so-called double dipping , that is, a double source of revenue for publishers, coming, on the one hand, from charging an APC for placing articles in open access and, on the other hand, from charging a subscription fee to the hybrid journals where these articles are published.

Therefore, if the author intends to publish in a hybrid journal outside the scope of a transformative agreement, it is strongly advised that this publication be done in closed access and the author guarantees compliance with the open access policy through the green route.

A transformative journal is a journal in the process of transforming itself into an open access journal, through a progressive increase in the percentage of articles published in open access.

Open access publication in a transformative journal, upon payment of an APC, is not considered compatible with the FCT Open Access Policy because the APCs required for publication of this type of article are usually very high and because this payment gives rise to so-called double dipping, that is, a double source of revenue for publishers: that from the payment of the APC and that from the payment of the journal subscription fee.

Articles resulting from full or partial funding from the FCT must be published in open access, using one of the three channels permitted by the Policy.

It may happen, in exceptional cases, that publishers do not offer the possibility of using any of the available channels to comply with the FCT Open Access Policy. In such cases, the author may seek support and advice from the institution to which he/she is affiliated or, in cases where such support cannot be assured, from the FCT itself, on the best way to achieve compliance with the Policy. Possible ways are to contact the publisher in order to make him/her aware of the need to accommodate the requirements arising from the FCT Open Access Policy or to identify an alternative journal for publication.

Yes, the open access policy applies to items that result from full or partial funding from the FCT.

The Policy covers publications resulting from FCT funding. Authors of publications that do not fall within this context are not required to comply.

Yes, all publications resulting from FCT funding, even if this funding only concerns one or more of its authors, must comply with the FCT Open Access Policy. Authors funded by FCT must make this obligation clear to co-authors.

No.

The possibility of open access publishing under transformative agreements exists for any author affiliated with an institution covered by such agreements. Therefore, any author linked to a b-on member institution may publish in open access under the transformative agreements concluded by the FCT within the framework of b-on, regardless of the FCT open access policy to which they are linked.

Likewise, an author may apply the retention of rights to his/her article, on his/her own initiative, even if it is covered by the Policy on Open Access to Scientific Publications Resulting from R&D Projects Funded by the FCT, adopted on May 5, 2014. In other words, despite not being bound to this by virtue of the applicable FCT funding instruments, the author may, on his/her own initiative, retain his/her rights, not transferring them to the publisher.

There is content that results from participation in conferences and is published by exclusive conference editors. If the publisher does not publish the content in open access, the author must seek to promote the publication of his/her work in open access under the green route, that is, by retaining rights over the accepted manuscript version (AAM) and subsequent deposit in a repository of the RCAAP network. In the event that the work in question is, or is part of, a book (has an associated ISBN), the Policy establishes its inapplicability when the publisher is a partner, sponsor or organizer of a conference that results in the production of a book, book chapter or monograph and opposes the publication of the accepted manuscript (AAM) in open access.