Open Access

In the last decade, open access has become an increasingly important feature of academic dissemination, its evolution associated with developments both technical and in terms of funder policy.

The British Academy supports the principle of open access, recognising the valuable role it can play in broadening the readership of academic publications – so long as the delivery of open access is sustainable for the long term and does not jeopardise the academic dissemination ecosystem.

In respect of open access, the British Academy has roles as a funder of research, as a publisher, and as a policy voice for the SHAPE disciplines across higher education and research.

The British Academy as funder

The British Academy has a range of schemes for supporting research in the SHAPE disciplines.

As a funder, the Academy does not currently stipulate that the outputs of the research that we fund be disseminated as open access. Across our funding schemes, open access fees – such as Article Processing Charges (APCs) and Book Processing Charges (BPCs) – cannot currently be included in the funding application as an eligible expense.

The British Academy as publisher

The British Academy publishes the following as immediate open access, funded through the Academy’s own resources (ie Diamond Open Access):

• Journal of the British Academy, showcasing work by those who have been supported through any of the British Academy’s programmes and activities, and by Fellows of the British Academy;
• British Academy Monographs, publishing work by British Academy-supported early career researchers;
• Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the British Academy, collectively making up a chapter in the intellectual history of Britain.

The Proceedings of the British Academy series adopts a Green open access model, with authors allowed to make available the ‘author accepted manuscript’ version of their chapters after a 12 months embargo. The version of record of whole volumes/individual chapters can be made available OA immediately if volume editors/authors are able to source open access fees.

The British Academy is also committed to enabling various parts of its older published content to be made freely available.

The British Academy as policy voice

The British Academy continues to contribute to debates on open access on behalf of the disciplines it represents. It is regularly consulted by funding and policy-making bodies, but also plays a convening role to promote dialogue on the issues across sectors and stakeholders.

Outputs include responses to consultations on developments in open access policy both in the UK and internationally, as well as articles and explainers reflecting on the challenges of open access publication for the humanities and social sciences.

Open Access Advisory Group

The Open Access Advisory Group provides advice and strategic oversight of the Academy’s policies, procedures and positions on the issue of open access. It ensures that the overall position of the Academy is outward facing and coordinated across policy, publishing and funder issues, and championing ways to make open access work for the SHAPE disciplines by providing sector leadership. The group is chaired by the Vice-President (Publishing and Conferences), Professor Lindsay Farmer FBA and includes both Fellows and external stakeholders amongst its members.

The secretary for this group is Dr Joanna Thornborough, Senior Policy Advisor (HE & Research Policy), at the British Academy.

Membership

Professor Lindsay Farmer FBA (Chair), Vice-President, Publishing and Conferences

Professor Margot Finn FBA, University College London

Richard Fisher, Former Managing Director, Cambridge University Press and VP of the Royal Historical Society

Professor Simon Green, University of Salford

Professor Jane Ohlmeyer FBA, Trinity College Dublin

Dr Catherine Souch, Head of Research and Higher Education, Royal Geographical Society

Professor Chris Wickham FBA, University of Oxford