Research findings funded with public money belong to the public. Everyone should be able to access them electronically and free of charge, and to make use of them if they so wish. The researchers themselves stand to benefit the most from open access: their results will be seen by more people. And they will have unrestricted access to the publications of their colleagues. This will be a big step forward for science. Industry and society will also benefit from gaining swift access to the latest scientific knowledge.
How do researchers meet the open access requirements? Either they publish their results in OA journals or OA books that are immediately freely accessible. This is the gold road.
Or they publish their results in a journal with a paywall first, then place them in a public database after six months. Books are subject to an embargo period of 12 months. This is the green road.
In the case of gold-road publications, the authors often contribute to the production costs. The SNSF offers grants to cover these costs. There is a straightforward process to apply for these grants on the online platform mySNF.
The SNSF open access policy goes hand in hand with the national strategy pursued by the Swiss higher education institutions. They decided that all publicly funded publications must be freely accessible as of 2024. Open access will soon be the standard mode of publication, in Switzerland and the world over.
You will find detailed information on publishing grants and open access in general on the
dedicated website.
Website Open Access
News
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11.12.2019
By 2020, all SNSF-funded publications should be freely accessible after six months at the latest. In an open letter, the SNSF has asked leading publishers to shorten their embargo periods.
Embargo periods: open letter: Details
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13.06.2019
Researchers who receive SNSF funding should make their results freely available. But to date only around 50% of publications have been set to open access. From now on, the SNSF will systematically verify whether researchers are meeting the requirement.
Stronger effort needed for open access: Details
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10.10.2018
It has never been so easy to obtain grants for open access publications from the SNSF. Researchers can now apply for them on the mySNF online platform – even after the project has ended.
Making open access the new normal: Details
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04.09.2018
European and national research funders are expected to commit all researchers to granting open access to their publications as of 2020. The SNSF supports this "Plan S", which was published in Brussels today. However, it is not in a position to add its signature to the plan at present.
Open access: SNSF supports Plan S: Details
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31.07.2018
With 39% open access publications, Switzerland occupies the top spot for OA publishing. Globally, the share of research results published 'open access' is 30%.
Open access: Switzerland at the top: Details
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24.05.2018
The SNSF is further simplifying open access: it has become a member of Europe PMC, which maintains the world's largest repository for biomedicine.
Open access: SNSF joins Europe PMC: Details
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28.03.2018
The SNSF is strengthening publishing Open Access: as of 1 April 2018, it will be easier to publish books and journal articles that are openly accessible.
Open Access publishing made easy: Details
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13.12.2017
Based on a decision by the National Research Council, all publications produced in SNSF-funded projects are to be freely available in digital format as of 2020.
100% Open Access to SNSF research: Details