Research funding organisations are key drivers of research and innovation, supporting academics and institutions in generating findings. They also dictate the format that results must be shared. In recent years especially, funders are requiring that research be made Open Access.

Therefore, research funders play an integral role in empowering and ensuring Open Access through their policies.

This article outlines the role of research funders, why so many support Open Access publishing, and how you can check the requirements of funders.

Role of research funders in scientific publishing

Research funders include government agencies, private foundations, corporations, and universities, and can operate on national or international scales. They play a crucial role in providing vital financial support to research projects, empowering scientists to advance knowledge.

Funding opportunities are highly competitive, as researchers must submit proposals outlining their goals, methodologies, budgetary needs, and more to receive funding. Funding is allocated in line with the respective funder’s objectives.

Funders often consider national interests as well as global challenges. Part of their role is to identify key issues and ensure researchers have the means to address them. Therefore, it can be argued that funders have crucial responsibilities for the overall scientific system by distributing resources that steer the direction of scientific output.

Why funders support Open Access

Open Access policies or mandates are rules or requirements set by governments, funding agencies, or institutions that require work be published in an Open Access format to varying degrees.

The number of research funders adopting Open Access policies for publications has grown exponentially in recent years, especially after the implementation of Plan S in 2021.

In our article on the Benefits of Open Access, we overview the main benefits that have led to this widespread support for and adoption of Open Access.

1. Clarity around copyright and licensing ensure that readers know what they can do with work and that they are protected when reusing it.
2. Openly accessible research receives more citations and from more diverse disciplines, institutions, and locations, therefore potentially increasing impact.
3. 85% of the world’s population live in low-to-middle-income countries. Open Access publishing ensures that vital information and cutting-edge insights are not limited to countries who can pay to access them, which is especially important for global issues like climate change.
4. Open Access allows people from outside of academia to engage with research without spending large amounts of resources to access it, such as industries in the private sector.
5. Openness enables interdisciplinary research by allowing researchers to focus on common aims rather than be restricted to what is in their fields, which is key for tackling complex issues such as energy infrastructure or medicine.

In short, Open Access publishing has benefits for not just researchers but also the society and economy. For funders, OA can boost impact and encourage collaboration.

Different funding options, requirements, and penalties

How strict a funder’s requirements are can vary, with some suggesting and supporting open publication and others requiring that all publications be published in a specific repository or journal. Also, different requirements will have their own ways of achieving Open Access, whether that be via deposit in a repository or publishing in an Open Access journal.

Some examples of funding types include:

• Article processing charges (APCs) being included in initial grants.
• Option to use part of funding for paying APCs.
• Access to a dedicated fund for open publication.
• Option to publish in Open Access journals through institution agreements.

If your funder requires Open Access, it will be a part of your terms and conditions for the grant. If you do not follow these terms, the funder may withhold part of the grant, and you may not be eligible for future funding.

A common requirement is for your research to feature a CC BY license. This allows users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, even for commercial use, so long as attribution is given to the creator.

Some funders may require Open Access but allow the author to choose which journal to publish in, regardless of whether it is open or closed. Authors can therefore deposit their research in an open repository to ensure that they meet the requirements whilst publishing in a closed access journal. Some funders even have repositories of their own.

Understanding the terms and conditions of your funding, as well as the terms of whichever publication venue you opt for, ensures that you do not incur any penalties.

How to check funder requirements

There are multiple tools that are available for checking the Open Access requirements of funders. However, it is always recommended to read the funder’s own policies and reach out to them directly if you have any questions.

The Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies (ROARMAP) is a searchable international registry of Open Access mandates and policies adopted by universities, research institutions, and research funders that require or request their researchers to provide Open Access to their peer-reviewed research article output.

On a national level, the JISC Open Policy Finder is a searchable database for up-to-date information regarding the open policies of journals, publishers, and funders in the United Kingdom. In 2025, the platform was established as a unified combination of the legacy Sherpa services of Romeo, Juliet, and FACT.

Funding organisations

Globally, there are many funding organisations with varying degrees of requirements for Open Access publishing.

Globally influential, the European Union (EU) supported a group of national research funding organisations in launching cOAlition S, which is built around Plan S. From 2021, Plan S mandates “full and immediate Open Access to peer-reviewed scholarly publications from research funded by public and private grants”.

Within the EU, and in line with Plan S, France’s leading funding agencies require that scholarly publications financed by public funds must be made publicly accessible and reusable.

The Second French Plan for Open Science Open Access requirements can be satisfied by publishing the text in an Open Access journal or placing it in an open public archive such as HAL. This is reflected in the aim to achieve 100% Open Access publication in France by 2030.

Outside of the EU, in Japan, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) policy is less strict, stating that articles funded by the JST must be made publicly accessible in an institutional or public repository within 12 months of publication.

A more iterative approach, which involves establishing a robust infrastructure, is being enacted in Japan. This includes a focus on repositories and data.

These examples showcase how there are international and national alignments and variations between research funders in their approach to ensuring research results are open. Though the approaches differ, they are striving to ensure research results are openly accessible and reusable.

Importance of research funders

Research funders have an integral role in providing vital financial support to research projects, empowering scientists to advance knowledge.

They are also key drivers of Open Access policy and practice, introducing requirements for authors when receiving funding.

We’re dedicated to giving you all the information you need to understand Open Access. Our article All You Need to Know About Open Access covers a range of topics.