Open access (OA) is a scholarly publishing model that aims to reduce barriers to access to research by shifting the cost of publication from the reader to the author. This cost shift allows the research to be made immediately available online free of charge and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions, requiring that proper attribution of works be given to authors (SPARC, 2016), also known as gold open access (pay to publish). Open access to research facilitates the dissemination and mobilization of research (Canadian Association of Research Libraries, 2021).
Many Canadian universities have demonstrated their support for open access publishing by creating Open Access Publishing Funds to support the efforts of university researchers to publish in open access journals. The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) published a report in 2016 that reviewed some of these funds and made practical recommendations for their administration. The authors of the report also note the trend to publish in [gold OA] journals will increase (CARL, 2016).
The Open Access Publishing Fund will support eligible RRU researchers who wish to publish in eligible fully Open Access (gold OA) journals and who are required to pay an Article Processing Fee (APC) to do so and do not have other sources of funding that can be applied to these charges.
The purpose of the RRU Open Access Publishing Fund is to promote openness in academic research and knowledge mobilization within the RRU community of scholarship via an established and credible mechanism. The intentions of this fund are to:
Eligible Applicants
If the submitting author is not an eligible RRU author at the time of submission, the fund cannot be used.
The RRU author must be the main author and must be an eligible RRU author:
Eligible Publications
Please contact the Library for assistance with choosing fully OA (gold OA) journals for publication. Many eligible journals are listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals.
Ineligible Publications
Please contact the Library for assistance if you are unsure whether a publication would be eligible for the fund.
Criteria and Payment
For more information or to apply for the fund, please contact:
Cassandra Larose, Librarian, Scholarly Communication and Learning Support
cassandra.larose@royalroads.ca | 250.391.2600 ext. 4324
Content adapted with thanks from the SFU Open Access Fund website and Brock Open Access Publishing Fund documentation.