"OA initiatives started mainly as a reaction of scientific communities to the unsustainable and cost-increasing developments in scientific publishing. Over the last few decades, subscription costs have soared and profit-oriented publishing houses have played a dominant role in the publication and dissemination of scientific works. Their position is based on the fact that researchers appreciate their content, work for them as authors, reviewers and editors and often feel obliged to publish their works with them - all based on the current evaluation and reputation mechanisms - in order to maintain optimal career chances. As a consequence, most of the publicly funded research is locked behind a paywall.

All over the world, OA initiatives offer a chance of providing broad-based open access to research results, bringing research back to the scientists and to the public that funds it. They also represent an opportunity to point out flaws and consequences of the current evaluation and reputation mechanisms in science. Research funding organisations and academic institutions are supporting these initiatives by implementing the corresponding OA policies and by providing the necessary financial resources and infrastructure (e.g. repositories, OA Policies)."

Swiss National Strategy on Open Access, 31 January 2017 (PDF)

Open Access has been defined in a number of ways. The most widely-used definition stems from the Budapest Open Access Initiative:

"The literature that should be freely accessible online is that which scholars give to the world without expectation of payment. Primarily, this category encompasses their peer-reviewed journal articles, but it also includes any unreviewed preprints that they might wish to put online for comment or to alert colleagues to important research findings. By "open access" to this literature, we mean its free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited."

Source: Budapest Open Access Initiative

Other definitions relating to OA:

Essentially, there are two main ways of ensuring Open Access to scientific publications. They may be defined as follows:

Please note that the “hybrid” approach is an alternative form of OA where researchers publish in a subscription journal but pay an additional APC to release their publication for Open Access. Access to the scientific results is paid for twice (known as “double dipping”) in this system. For this reason, the SNSF does not offer grants for publications in the hybrid mode.

The SNSF prioritises Gold Open Access because it is the only standard which ensures immediate access, it favours new and sustainable publication models and underlines the many advantages of Open Access.

​Overview

The National Open Access Strategy approved in spring 2017 and the Action Plan of February 2018 represent important steps in establishing Open Access in Switzerland. They aim to ensure that all publications financed with public money are openly accessible by 2024.

The SNSF has decided to implement Open Access for all publications emanating from SNSF-funded research already as of 2020. To facilitate this policy, it has defined a range of measures and issued new regulations, which entered into force on 1 April 2018.

The most important changes at a glance

The changes in detail

As of 1 April 2018:

As of 1 October 2018:

Transitional provisions

During the transition phase from 1 April 2018 to 1 October 2018, researchers will have various options for obtaining grants for articles and books. The SNSF strives to make the transition as seamless and simple as possible for researchers. Grant holders can benefit from the advantages that the new rules offer immediately, even if the grants were approved before 1 April 2018.

For articles:

For already awarded, earmarked book grants, there are three options:

The Open Access commitment (principle)

SNSF grantees are in principle required to publish the results of their research in Open Access publications. The SNSF finances a Gold-Road publication in a journal that is 100% Open Access, as an OA book or an OA book chapter. But articles may also be published following the Green Road, no later than six months after publication by a publisher. On this path, books or book chapters need to be made freely accessible no later than 12 months after their initial publication by the publisher.

As the SNSF has significantly expanded its Gold Open Access funding and simplified the application process for publication grants via the OA platform (mySNF), it now no longer grants any exemptions from the OA commitment for articles. If books or book chapters should incur disproportionately high costs for image rights, the commitment may be waived on request.

Articles in scientific journals

The Gold Road of Open Access publishing consists in the publication of scientific articles resulting from an SNSF grant in an OA journal. The "Directory of Open Access Journals", DOAJ, gives an overview of quality, peer-reviewed OA journals. The SNSF supports researchers in making their articles freely available via the Gold Road. A grant for covering the publication charges (APC) can be applied for via the OA platform.

OA publishing along the Green Road consists in the self-archiving of scientific articles resulting from an SNSF grant in an institutional or disciplinary repository no later than six months after its publication by a publisher.

Please note that the SNSF does not support the "hybrid" publication model because researchers who publish in a subscription journal have to pay an additional APC to release their publication for Open Access. The SNSF does not cover this type of publication cost because access to the scientific results is paid for twice ("double dipping"). However, the SNSF's Open Access requirement is met by adopting this approach.

Scientific books and book chapters

The SNSF provides financing for the publication of scientific books via the Gold Road, regardless of whether the underlying research results were obtained in an SNSF-funded project or not. The publication fees are covered by book processing charges (BPCs), which can be applied for via the OA platform in mySNF.

Link zur Seite der OA-Monographien

For individual book chapters from an SNSF-funded project that are published in a peer-reviewed anthology, the publishing fees can be covered by book chapter processing charges (BCPCs), applied for on the OA platform of the SNSF.

If the SNSF OA commitment is fulfilled via the Green Road, the books and book chapters must be archived in an institutional or disciplinary repository no later than 12 months after their initial publication by the publisher.

OA monitoring by the SNSF

Evidence of the fulfilment of the OA commitment must be provided in the scientific reporting.

Researchers are obliged to enter in mySNF all publications produced under an SNSF grant and to indicate whether they are freely accessible or not. The SNSF will use this information to assess to what extent the OA requirements have been met. Researchers will be informed about the OA status of the publications they have entered and will have the opportunity to correct and update these data. Subsequently, the OA status will be displayed in the SNSF's P3 database.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

The Open Access requirements set out in the General implementation regulations for the Funding Regulations of the SNSF (Clause 2.16, Clause 11.9-11.16)

General implementation regulations for the Funding Regulations (PDF)

And the Regulations on the funding of Open Access publications of the SNSF

Regulations on the funding of Open Access publications of 7 November 2017

Summary table:

Open Access - guidelines for researchers (PDF)

Stratégie nationale

By 2024, all publications financed in Switzerland using public funds will have to be accessible to everyone free of charge. At its general meeting of 31 January 2017, swissuniversities approved the National Open Access Strategy, which was subsequently endorsed by the Swiss University Conference (SHK). The next step will be to draw up a corresponding action plan.

Swiss National Strategy on Open Access (PDF)

Report on financial flows in Swiss scientific publishing

Funded jointly by the SNSF and swissuniversities in the context of the SUC P-2 programme, a study conducted by CEPA (Cambridge Economic Policy Associates Ltd) examined various scenarios for transitioning Switzerland's scientific publication system to an Open Access system.

Open Access Monitoring Report

The SNSF carried out a self-evaluation of its Open Access activities in the period between October 2013 and August 2015. In addition, it verified the researchers' compliance with the SNSF guidelines.

Monitoring report of the SNSF, October 2013 - August 2015 (PDF)

The SNSF actively participates in the international debate on Open Access and has signed the following reference documents:

Amsterdam Call for Action on Open Science

The Call for Action on Open Science was the result of the conference "Open Science - From Vision to Action", which took place in Amsterdam on 4/5 April 2016, on the occasion of the EU presidency of the Netherlands.

Amsterdam call for Action on Open Science

Science Europe Principles on Open Access to Research Publications

The 51 member organisations of the umbrella organisation Science Europe are making a concerted effort to ensure that the results of research and innovation funded by public money in Europe are made freely accessible in a digital format. They have defined a list with ten principles which are to lend coherency and consistency to their OA efforts. Through its active participation in Science Europe, the SNSF has contributed to the position paper and committed itself to the principles mentioned therein.

Science Europe Principles on Open Access to Research Publications (PDF)

OA2020 initiative

The SNSF has signed the international OA2020 initiative for the introduction of open access to scientific journals across the board. Over 30 research funding organisations already support the Expression of Interest in the OA2020 initiative. Together they aim to transform scientific publishing and implement wide-ranging and free online access to research articles, including their unrestricted use and re-use.

OA2020 initiative

Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities

This document provides one of the first definitions of Open Access. Although it was primarily addressed to the humanities and social sciences, the Berlin Declaration soon became generally applicable to the academic community as a whole. It is now an integral part of the OA movement.

Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities

Budapest Open Access Initiative

This text, which was drawn up by pioneers of the OA movement, remains an important text and often serves as a reference when it comes to defining OA.

Budapest Open Access Initiative

​Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ)

The DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high-quality, peer-reviewed, Open Access journals.

Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ)

Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)

The DOAB is an online directory created by the OAPEN Foundation, which indexes and provides access to high-quality, peer-reviewed, Open Access books. OAPEN is responsible for indexing and providing access to OA books.

Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAB)

Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR)

OpenDOAR is a registry of academic Open Access repositories. All information in the directory is manually checked. The result of this analysis is a list of quality-controlled repositories.

Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR)

Sherpa RoMEO colour code

The colour code adopted by Sherpa RoMEO is a tool that has been developed in order to classify the different Open Access archiving models.

Sherpa-RoMEO colours

OpenAire

The aim of OpenAire is to support the implementation of Open Access in Europe. It provides the means to promote and carry out the widespread adoption of the Open Access Policy, as defined in the directives/initiatives of the European Commission.

OpenAire

Quality Open Access Market (QOAM)

OA journals can differ strongly in terms of quality and price. It is not always clear whether the journal in question is a quality journal offered by a reliable editor at a reasonable price. The QOAM platform offers an overview of OA journals (Gold OA and hybrid OA) that fulfil these criteria.

Quality Open Access Market (QOAM)

Pilot project OAPEN-CH

In the OAPEN-CH pilot project, the SNSF and the participating publishing houses are becoming more experienced in publishing Open Access monographs and collecting data on the use, sales and production costs of printed and digital books.

OAPEN-CH

Unpaywall

This add-on - available for Chrome and Firefox - examines the front door or abstract page of a publication and verifies whether an Open Access version is freely available somewhere else (in a repository).

Unpaywall

a) What types of costs relating to scientific articles are covered by the SNSF within the framework of its Open Access policy?

The SNSF only covers costs relating to publications in a Gold Open Access journals. The costs of publication in a peer-reviewed OA journal of recognised scientific quality (DOAJ, see link below) can be applied for even after the end of the project via the OA platform (mySNF). Applications can be submitted at any time but no more than six months after the publication of the article.

Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ)

b) What types of costs relating to books are covered by the SNSF within the framework of its Open Access policy?

The SNSF finances the publication of scientific books (monographs and anthologies) that are published via the Gold Road. It is possible to apply for a grant covering the book processing charges (BPCs) of books resulting from a project funded by the SNSF as well as books with no link to an SNSF project. The application has to be submitted via the OA platform (mySNF).

For monographs and anthologies, the SNSF awards a book processing charge (BPC) that covers the costs of publishing services with regard to quality control, book production and distribution. The maximum amounts of the different BPC modules are specified in Article 11 of the Regulations on the funding of Open Access publications.

Open Access book publications

c) What types of costs relating to book chapters are covered by the SNSF within the framework of its Open Access policy?

The SNSF awards so-called book chapter processing charges (BCPCs) to cover the publication costs of chapters in an OA anthology. The chapters must be peer-reviewed and published in an anthology that was put together by an editor or an editorial team. The SNSF only awards BCPCs for book chapters that appear in an anthology that is freely accessible in its entirety (Gold OA). During the transition period between 1 October 2018 and 31 December 2019, BCPCs may be requested even if the book chapter is published in an anthology that is not openly accessible immediately without any restrictions or charges. Applications have to be submitted via the OA platform (mySNF).

d) What types of costs are not covered by the SNSF within the framework of its Open Access policy?

The SNSF does not cover the following costs:

e) What are processing charges (APCs, BPCs and BCPCs)?

Processing charges are paid by authors wishing to publish their work in Open Access. They cover publishing services with regard to quality control, editing, publishing and digital archiving. Processing charges are imposed when publishing articles (article processing charges), books (book processing charges) or book chapters (book chapter processing charges). The SNSF only covers processing charges for Gold OA, i.e. for publications that are openly accessible in their entirety without delay. It does not cover APCs imposed for hybrid Open Access publications because it would involve double payment for the same service (subscription plus processing charges). Processing charges can be paid for by the authors, the author's institution or another funder. Paying a processing charge does not mean that the authors retain the copyright to their work or that the latter has been made available under a Creative Commons licence.

f) What is the "hybrid" Open Access model?

The "hybrid" Open Access approach is a model where researchers publish in a subscription journal but pay an additional processing charge to release their publication for Open Access. The SNSF does not cover this type of publication cost because access to the scientific results is paid for twice ("double dipping"). However, the SNSF's Open Access requirement is met by adopting this approach.

g) Do all publishers agree to deposit a publication in an institutional or disciplinary repository after its publication?

Many publishers agree to the self-archiving of publications (about 90%). The embargo periods differ from publisher to publisher. They may vary from the complete absence of an embargo period to a five-year embargo (in rare cases). The OA requirements of the SNSF are met if articles are self-archived after up to six months, and books/book chapters after up to twelve months (Green OA). An overview of publishers' practices may be found on the SHERPA/RoMEO website.

Sherpa/RoMEO

h) What should be done if the publisher proposes an embargo period which exceeds that specified in the regulations issued by the SNSF?

The SNSF considers open access to publicly funded publications a mandatory requirement. For this reason, it requires all publications resulting from SNSF funding to be openly accessible. Authors who want to publish the results of an SNSF project cannot choose publishers that do not allow publishing according to the flexible OA regulations of the SNSF.

The SNSF accepts a maximum embargo period of six months for OA publication of articles and twelve months for books and book chapters. We recommend that authors get in touch with publishers to ensure that these embargo periods are respected and the conditions for Green OA are met. The SNSF will explain the various options to researchers in the context of its OA 2020 Policy.

Sherpa/RoMEO

i) Do the SNSF's Open Access requirements restrict researchers' freedom to publish?

Researchers are free to make their own choices in respect of their scientific publications. In its OA requirements, the SNSF has simply set out some basic rules regarding the publication of results from SNSF projects. Choosing a suitable format and publisher remains the responsibility of the researchers. As publishing the world over is evolving towards Open Access, more options to publish in agreement with the OA requirements of the SNSF are available. The SNSF, in collaboration with partners in Switzerland and abroad, is actively supporting this development.

The SNSF wishes to honour the principle that research results that were funded through public money should be openly accessible; for this reason it can no longer make any exceptions with regard to the OA publication of articles. If a book or book chapter faces disproportionately high charges due to image rights, the Open Access commitment may be waived upon request.

j) Which version of the publication may be self-archived to satisfy the SNSF's Open Access requirements (Green Road)?

The publisher version (published PDF) or the accepted manuscript after peer-reviewing (post-print) should be stored in the repository for self-archiving. The archived version must match the version published by the publisher in terms of its content; other aspects such as layout may be different.

k) My article is not published in an Open Access journal. Or, my book is not available in an electronic version. What are the consequences?

Grantees of the SNSF are advised to consider the details of the OA requirements of the SNSF before agreeing to work with a publisher. The SNSF monitors compliance with its OA regulations and publishes the OA status of all publications resulting from its funding in the P3 database (project level). As of 2020, the SNSF may take further measures if its OA rules are not respected.

If a copyright convention has been concluded with a publisher, its terms should be complied with. However, the SNSF expects these publications to be self-archived in an institutional or disciplinary repository, usually after an embargo period of up to six months for articles and up to twelve months for books and book chapters. Longer embargo periods are not in line with the OA rules. All published articles have to meet the OA requirements; exceptions are only made in the case of books that face disproportionately high costs for image rights. If there are no agreements on copyright, scientific works can be archived in a repository three months after publication (Article 382, paragraph 3 Code of Obligations). An overview of the standard practices of publishers is available on the Sherpa/RoMEO website.

Sherpa/RoMEO

SNSF P3 database

l) I am not familiar with the various opportunities for publishing in an Open Access journal ("Gold Road"). Is there a useful list I could refer to?

Researchers may consult the "Directory of Open Access Journals" website, DOAJ, which is a community-curated online directory of high-quality, Open Access, peer-reviewed journals.

Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ)

m) What types of repositories are available for self-archiving an article or book ("Green Road")?

Researchers may consult the "Directory of Open Access Repositories" website, OpenDOAR, which is a registry of academic Open Access repositories. All information in the directory is manually checked. The result of this analysis is a list of quality-controlled repositories.

Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR)

n) Do publications deposited on ResearchGate, Academia or my own personal website satisfy the SNSF's Open Access requirements ("Green Road")?

Making a publication available on platforms such as ResearchGate or Academia does not meet the SNSF Open Access criteria because the compulsory registration required inhibits Open Access and introduces an economic model based on the sale of users' data, which the SNSF does not support. It should also be stressed that making a publication accessible on the author's own website does not meet the SNSF Open Access criteria because long-term access is not guaranteed.

o) Is it necessary to pay for self-archiving a publication in an institutional or disciplinary repository ("Green Road")?

Self-archiving is usually free of charge. Any costs associated with self-archiving publications in an institutional or disciplinary repository ("Green Road") are not, however, funded by the SNSF.

p) How does the SNSF check that the Open Access principles are being met?

Researchers must enter output data regarding SNSF-funded research results. The SNSF expects that publications are openly accessible and checks the indicated links regularly. Based on the collected data, a regular OA monitoring at project level takes place. Researchers are given the opportunity to update their data before this information is published on the P3 database of the SNSF.

SNSF P3 database

q) When and to whom do the SNSF's Open Access requirements apply?

According to the adapted Open Access provisions in the General Implementation regulations for the Funding Regulations, which entered into force on 1 April 2018, the OA requirements apply to all scientific works published in journals and books (i.e. monographs, anthologies, book chapters) that were fully or partially financed by SNSF grants. Full or partial financing by the SNSF refers to the research on which the reported results are based, or the direct funding of a publication. The commitment to make publications openly accessible applies regardless of whether the SNSF awards a grant for the OA publication. If the research is co-funded, the OA commitment shall apply if the SNSF provided 50% or more of the funding.

The Green Road of Open Access must be respected with regard to all publications that are the result of SNSF grants that were awarded before the adapted Open Access provisions in the General Implementation regulations for the Funding Regulations entered into force. For such publications, no supplementary funding for the purpose of Gold Open Access publication can be requested. Contributions to book publications are subject to transitional provisions: since 1 January 2016, grants for publications have had to be included in SNSF grants (integrated publication grants). Thanks to the transitional provisions, it is still possible to request integrated publication grants; but as of now there is the attractive alternative of benefiting from the higher rates for book publications via the Gold Road.

General implementation regulations for the Funding Regulations (PDF)

r) What is the legal situation regarding copyright?

The Swiss legal system recognises the freedom to publish. Authors are free to decide where they wish to publish the results of their research. When research is funded by public money, there is a public interest in transparency and free access to the publication. SNSF grantees must therefore make their publications publicly and freely accessible in electronic form (Open Access requirements). This commitment is met when a scientific work is published via the Gold Road. The SNSF also accepts publication via the Green Road.

The copyright of scientific works is governed by the Federal Copyright Act (CopA, currently being revised). This Act as well as the law on publisher agreements based on the Code of Obligations define how copyright is transferred from the authors to the publishers that publish the scientific works. The provisions of the publisher agreement and the general conditions agreed between the parties to the contract define the rights that are actually transferred to the publisher as well as the conditions and rules governing the transfer. Specific licences and copyrights are concerned here. Unfortunately a number of publishing practices are in conflict with Open Access. The SNSF advises its grantees to reserve the right to Open Access in their dealings with publishers. The SNSF is campaigning for the recognition of the right to re-publish; this would enable authors to make publications that are the result of publicly funded research openly accessible in all cases.

General implementation regulations for the Funding Regulations (PDF)

s) What types of costs for conference proceedings and papers are covered by the SNSF within the framework of its Open Access policy?

Conference papers that have been peer-reviewed are regarded as book chapters. Book chapter processing charges (BCPCs) can be requested to cover publication costs. If a peer-reviewed conference anthology is planned, the costs can be covered by book processing charges (BPCs).

The SNSF does not award publication grants for special issues of journals and conference proceedings that have not been peer reviewed.

Open Access book publications

t) What is the SNSF's position with regard to predatory journals?

Predatory journals pose as scientific journals: they offer to publish articles in return for a fee, but they do not offer services with regard to quality control and editing as you would expect from a serious scientific journal. Such journals employ unethical business practices such as:

Publishing in predatory journals is highly problematic for a number of reasons. First, it can damage your own reputation or the reputation of your institution.

Second, articles that are published in predatory journals do not offer any added value to researchers and science. Their visibility is limited and they are hard to find because these journals are not indexed by known citation indexes and literature databases such as Scopus or Web of Science and because predatory journals do not guarantee long-term access to published articles. As a result, such articles are rarely cited or not at all, they have little impact in practice and could eventually be lost. The resources used to generate the article are thus wasted.

What's more, such articles enter the public domain without the necessary quality control. All publications in such journals therefore endanger the credibility of publicly-funded research and contribute to a general distrust in scientific publications.

The SNSF advises researchers to carefully consider where they publish their work. In case of doubt, the SNSF recommends consulting sources such as the Directory of Open Access Journals or checklists such as Think Check Submit.

Think.Check.Submit.