The Research Information Network has published a useful guidance document, with advice for researchers funded by one of the UK Research Councils and/or the Wellcome Trust on how to pay open access publication charges. The document discusses two options for paying APCs:
- Researchers can use their own direct grant funds
- Institutions can treat APCs as a chargeable indirect expense under Full Economic Costing, and using this approach can set up a central fund for APC payments/BioMed Central membership etc. The Wellcome Trust has taken the lead on this and already provides such funds to leading UK research institutions.
The second approach promises to make open access publication much more convenient for authors, and we encourage librarians and research administrators in the UK to investigate this option.
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