The SNSF already jointly signed the “Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities”  with other scientific organisations in Switzerland in 2006*. In doing so, it underlined its intention to support the efforts towards establishing open access -- i.e. free access to scientific publications -- in Switzerland.

Speeding up the positive trend
So-called “open access” publications are standard practice in many fields today and provide researchers more visibility through access to their research.  The aim of the provisions to provide Open Access to research publications from sponsored research projects”, which was approved by the National Research Council, is to speed up this positive trend in the scientific community.  The SNSF has chosen a moderate approach in line with other scientific organisations such as the European Research Council:

• Researchers retain the right of choice over commercial  publication/first publication;

• Researchers can determine their own strategy for meeting the open access publication requirement.

Two routes to open access: the ‘green’ and the ‘golden’ road
In practice, the SNSF requires funding recipients to publish their research results on the Internet in electronic form so as to be accessible free of charge (i.e. as an open access publication), parallel to any commercial publication. This means that a complete version of all published and presented publications must be stored on the electronic publication server (archive or repository) of some organisation or a specific discipline or on a personal homepage (the so-called “green road”), as long as this does not come into conflict with legal concerns and immediately after the expiry date, set by certain journals, respectively.  Unlike many universities or institutes of higher education, the SNSF does not have its own repository for research publications.

As an alternative, funding receipients can publish their research in a peer-reviewed open access journal ( the so-called “golden road”).

“Green road” open access publications do not usually involve costs; costs for publishing in the peer-reviewed open access journals published by research funding institutions (the “golden road”) can vary widely. As the SNSF does not make the golden road obligatory – in contrast to the green road –  all costs incurred via this route are the responsibility of the funding recipients. This also applies to costs incurred by a possible link to electronic access by so-called hybrid journals, i.e. by journals which offer their subscribers a printed as well as an electronic version.  The SNSF can, however, make exceptions.

The objectives of “Open Access”
The aim of establishing open access to scientific publications is to increase the circulation and transparency of research results within the scientific community and to significantly broaden access to scientific results.  Open access can also lead to more efficient publication of research projects and, in particular, facilitate easier and less expensive access for smaller disciplines to the publication market.

Provisions: Valid as of 1 September 2007
The SNSF provisions to provide open access can be found in German and French at the SNSF’s homepage (www.snf.ch) under project funding for Divisions I-III. In-depth information on the issue can also be found at the SNSF’s homepage at “Current > Dossiers > Open Access”.


* Organisations which signed the declaration are:  Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities (CRUS), Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences (KFH), Swiss Conference of Rectors of Universities of Teacher Education (SCTE),  Council of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (CASS), Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).