What is a public access mandate?
Research funders and organizations are increasingly adopting mandates that encourage or require researchers to make their research findings freely and publicly accessible. A "public" or "open" access mandate or policy usually refers to a policy of a research funding agency, foundation or institution.
Funders with Public Access Mandates
With the 2013 OSTP Public Access mandate, research funded by many government agencies must now be made publicly available, with some private funders adopting similar policies. Keep in mind that publishing in an open access journal does not necessarily satisfy compliance with these policies and may not necessary for compliance. Rather, these policies require the deposit of research publications and data in particular open repositories, regardless of the type of journal in which they have been published. See specific policies for more information.
Open Access Policies and Documents
Open access policies, statements and resolutions from a number of organizations and institutions, including Cornell University.
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Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and HumanitiesThe Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities of 22 October 2003 is one of the milestones of the Open Access movement.
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Bethesda Statement on Open Access PublishingThis 2003 statement drafted by the biomedical research community defines open access and supports open access publishing.
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Budapest Open Access InitiativeThis 2001 initiative launched by the Open Society Institute established a foundation of open access principles relating to research literature.
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Cornell Faculty Senate Resolution (PDF)The University Faculty Library Board put forth this resolution to urge faculty to consider alternative publishing models making scholarly information more accessible and affordable.
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Modern Language Association Statement on Public Access to Federally Funded ResearchThe MLA is "working with . . . members to develop a set of new professional practices and standards for . . . open, publicly accessible communication – new modes of editing, new forms of peer review – and we are committed to the idea that the role of the society in the years ahead will be to support those new practices. . . ."
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Sherpa Juliet funder open access policy databaseThis searchable database provides information about the open access publishing and archiving policies of many key funding agencies.
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Sherpa Romeo publisher open access policy databaseThis searchable database provides information about the open access publishing and archiving policies of publishers and individual journals.
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World Bank Open Access PolicyThe World Bank recognizes an open access policy for its published documents and reports.