Open Science Policies - Open Access Policy

The RCAAP (Open Access Scientific Repositories of Portugal) network is a network composed of a set of repositories from institutions that are part of the project. The list of these repositories can be found here: RCAAP – Open Access Scientific Repositories of Portugal.

RCAAP is an initiative managed and operated by FCT. RCAAP aims to increase the visibility, accessibility, and dissemination of the results of national academic and scientific research activities and to facilitate access to information on national scientific output on an open access basis.

The deposit of the thesis or dissertation in an RCAAP network repository is a condition for it to remain in open access.

The deposit must be made within a maximum period of 60 days after obtaining the degree, and must be made by the institution awarding the degree if it was obtained in Portugal, or by the author themselves if the degree was obtained at a foreign institution.

Yes. The thesis or dissertation may be deposited cumulatively in other repositories, or in other media, such as the author's personal web pages.

By applying a Creative Commons license to their thesis or dissertation, authors are creating the conditions for it to be accessible and reusable by anyone who is interested, thus fulfilling the purpose of making content resulting from FCT funding openly accessible. In this way, the author makes it possible for third parties to freely use their thesis or dissertation, which they can disseminate, adapt, etc., provided that the author is given due credit.

A Creative Commons (CC) license is a license based on an alternative model to traditional copyright, giving the author the possibility to define how they want their work to be used by third parties and, therefore, which rights reserved under the traditional copyright regime may be exercised by third parties.

There are several types of Creative Commons licenses ( About CC Licenses – Creative Commons), and the FCT Open Access Policy indicates that, as a rule, authors must associate their articles with a CC-BY, CC-BY-NC, CC-BY-ND, or CC-BY-NC-ND license, or equivalent, provided that it is authorized by the FCT.

A license equivalent to the CC license may also be applied to the work, provided that it is authorized by the FCT.

This license allows the thesis or dissertation to be copied and shared, as well as reused and used to create derivative works, provided that the authorship is always acknowledged. More information can be found here.

This license allows the thesis or dissertation to be copied and shared, as well as reused, but prohibits its commercial use. Authorship must always be acknowledged. More information can be found here.

This license allows the thesis or dissertation to be copied and shared, as well as reused, but prohibits the creation of derivative works. Authorship must always be acknowledged. More information can be found here.

This license allows the thesis or dissertation to be copied and shared, but prohibits the creation of derivative works or commercial use. Authorship must always be acknowledged. More information can be found here.

Although not desirable, it is accepted that the availability of doctoral theses and master's dissertations in open access in an open access repository is subject to a 12-month embargo period.

This is justified, in particular, by the possibility that the author may wish to patent an invention described in the work or publish the content of the thesis in book form.

In exceptional cases, duly justified and authorized by the FCT, namely those related to the process of obtaining patents or publishing articles or books based on the thesis or dissertation, the 12-month embargo period may be extended.

When applying for an embargo period longer than 12 months, the author must request authorization from FCT by emailing politica-publicacoes@fct.pt, indicating the desired embargo period and the justification for its application.

The procedure for validating the application of an equivalent license involves submitting a request to the FCT to apply a license other than those mentioned above. The request must be sent to politica-publicacoes@fct.pt and identify the publication in question, the alternative license to be applied, and the justification for its use. The request will be reviewed, and a decision will be made, taking into account the context of the situation under review and the possible convenience or necessity of applying a license other than those mentioned above.

It is a license that fulfills the objectives of ensuring open access to the thesis or dissertation, taking into account the context of the situation under analysis.