Open Science Policies - Open Access Policy

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

Books, book chapters and monographs that are subject to the obligation to be published in open access are considered to be books, book chapters and monographs that are the result of total or partial funding from the FCT and that are subject to a scientificpeer review or validation process.

A book chapter is a work formally published for the first time, together with similar works by other authors in a single publication, forming a permanently identifiable set of contributions on a common theme, with an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). The concept includes book chapters resulting from conferences.

A monograph is a long-form publication that communicates an original contribution to studies on a specific topic or theme and is designed for a primarily academic audience. It can be written by one or more authors.

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

Via Dourada - Immediate publication in open access on the publisher's website or platform

Via Verde- Deposit in an open access repository of a work published in closed access

When you choose to publish the book, book chapter or monograph immediately in open access, that is, making it immediately accessible to anyone, regardless of whether they pay a price to access it.

When you choose to publish the book in closed access, that is, only accessible immediately to those who pay a price to access it.

The rule is that books, book chapters and monographs that result from total or partial FCT funding must be published in open access.

The Policy does, however, provide for the following exceptions to this general principle:

1. When the publication can only be made by a publisher who opposes the publication of the accepted manuscript (AAM) in open access;
2. When the work contains content for which third-party rights have been granted, it is not possible to obtain their authorization for it to be published in open access and the publication of the book, book chapter or monograph without this content would seriously compromise its meaning and the correct perception of its content.

The cases referred to in point 1. may result from the situation in which there is only one publisher who does not allow publication in open access and:

1. Has editorial competence and can establish appropriate peer review processes;
2. Possess unique expertise in the subject area of the book;
3. Have adequate distribution channels to reach the publication's target audience;
4. Be a partner, sponsor or organizer of a conference that results in the production of a book, book chapter or monograph;
5. Be the only publisher able to publish the book, book chapter or monograph in the desired language.

It may happen that publishers do not offer the possibility of using any of the available ways of complying 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 publisher for the publication.

There may be borderline cases in which there is only one publisher likely to publish the work and that publisher refuses to allow the Policy to be complied with. For these cases, see the previous point.

Yes, the open access policy applies to books, book chapters or monographs 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.

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. If the work in question is, or is part of, a book (has an ISBN associated with it), the Policy does not apply 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.