Open Science Policies - Open Access Policy

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

Scientific articles subject to the obligation to publish in open access are considered to be articles:

• Accepted for publication followingpeer review processes, including review articles and conference papers.

Preprints, particularly those subject to peer review, facilitate scientific collaboration and are a tool 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 peer reviewed. On the other hand, it is equally difficult to ascertain the soundness and seriousness of the peer review processes associated with a preprint, since, unlike, for example, articles published in journals, they do not have an editorial decision that, in a way, validates the peer review.

Because of these considerations, peer reviewed preprints are not subject to the open access policies of FCT's counterparts.

Thus, although we recognize the importance of peer reviewed preprints and believe that, once the practical difficulties pointed out have been overcome, they should be included in the Policy, at this stage, their inclusion could contribute to discrediting the Policy, with the real risk that it would guarantee content that does not have the quality and scientific solidity that is expected following a serious peer review process.

There are three possible ways of complying with the open access policy:

Via Dourada - Publication of the article in a journal or open access platform

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

Transformative Way - Publication of the article in a hybrid journal under a transformative agreement

On the website supporting the Policy, developed by FCT, it is possible to consult the Journal Checker Tool: Plan S Compliance Validator, in order to obtain information on the avenues available for publication in open access, by entering the name of the journal in which you intend to publish, the name of the funder, in this case 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, you may be required to pay a publication fee, usually known as an Article Processing Charge (APC). This fee may be considered an eligible expense under the FCT funding instrument.

When the article:

a) is published in a closed-access journal

b) is published in a hybrid magazine, 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 has signed transformative agreements within the framework of the Online Knowledge Library (b-on) initiative with various publishers. The possibility of publishing in open access under these agreements is limited to authors who are linked to one of the institutions that are members of b-on. The list of these institutions is available here: Members (b-on.pt).

These transformative agreements allow publication in open access, 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 under this route is also possible within the framework of transformative agreements that may have been signed by entities other than the FCT and that cover the institution to which the author is affiliated.

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 strongly discouraged in these situations and, for this reason, APCs paid outside the framework of a transformative agreement in hybrid journals are not considered eligible expenditure in FCT funding instruments. The aim is to avoid what is known as double dipping, i.e. a double source of revenue for publishers from, on the one hand, charging APCs for placing articles in open access and, on the other hand, charging a subscription price for the hybrid journals in which 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 made in closed access and the author ensures compliance with the open access policy through the green route.

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

Publishing in open access in a transformative journal through the payment of an APC is not considered compatible with FCT's Open Access Policy because the APCs required for publication in this type of article are usually very high and because this payment gives rise to what is known as double dipping, i.e. a double source of revenue for publishers: the one coming from the payment of the APC and the one coming from the payment of the journal's subscription price.

Articles that have received total or partial funding from the FCT must be published in open access, using one of the three channels allowed by the Policy.

In exceptional cases, publishers may not offer the possibility of using any of the available channels to comply with FCT's Open Access Policy. In such cases, the author can seek the support and advice of the institution to which he or she is affiliated or, in cases where such support cannot be guaranteed, of FCT itself, on the best way to achieve compliance with the Policy. Possible avenues include contacting the publisher to make them aware of the need to accommodate the requirements of FCT's Open Access Policy or identifying an alternative journal for publication.

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

The Policy is aimed at publications resulting from FCT funding. Authors of publications that do not fall within this scope are not obliged to comply.

Yes, all publications that result from FCT funding, even if this funding only concerns one or some of the authors, must comply with FCT's Open Access Policy. Authors funded by FCT must make this obligation clear to their co-authors.

No.

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

Likewise, an author can apply the retention of rights to their article on their own initiative, even if it is covered by the Policy on Open Access to Scientific Publications Resulting from R&D Projects Funded by FCT, adopted on May 5, 2014. In other words, although the author is not bound by the applicable FCT funding instruments, he can, on his own initiative, retain his rights and not pass them on to the publisher.

Some content is the result of participation in conferences and is published by publishers exclusive to the conference. If the publisher does not publish the content in open access, the author should seek to promote the publication of their work in open access under the green route, i.e. by retaining rights to the accepted manuscript version (AAM) and then depositing it in a repository of the RCAAP network. In the event that the work in question is, or is part of, a book (has an ISBN associated with it), 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.