Open Access

The Tri-Agency Open Access Policy

In 2015 SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR adopted an Open Access Policy mandating research publications from their grants be made openly available. The policy requires peer-reviewed publications generated from Tr-Agency funding be freely available "within 12 months of publication." The researcher is responsible for ensuring the policy is followed.

Compliance with the Open Access Policy

The policy allows two routes to fulfilling its requirements:

1.  Deposit a version of your article in an open access repository, either the Mount e-Commons or a subject-specific repository. The Tri-Agency states that acceptable versions for deposit include "the final full-text peer-reviewed manuscript (the post-print) or the published version where allowable. The final full-text peer-reviewed manuscript must include all tables, figures, images and appendices." To determine which versions a journal will allow an author to deposit, use SHERPA/RoMEO.
2. Publish in an open access journal, or a hybrid journal. Article Processing Charges (APCs) are sometimes required from the journal, and those APCs are eligible expenses for Tri-Agency grants.

Authors are encouraged to deposit the final version of a peer-reviewed manuscript in an OA repository even if the article has been published in an OA journal. 

Making a version of your article available on your own website does not meet the conditions of the policy. The Tri-Agency FAQ states: "Although making articles available on a personal website is permissible, the Agencies require that a copy also be made available through an online repository or journal within 12 months to reach a broad audience more effectively and to ensure long-term accessibility."

For more information, refer to the Tri-Agencies FAQ and online Toolbox.

Canadian Cancer Society
Effective July 2009, all researchers supported in whole or in part through the Canadian Cancer Society are required to make their published results of Canadian Cancer Society supported work publicly available.

Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance
As of April 2009, CBCRA now requires that grant holders supply an electronic copy of final, accepted manuscripts funded in whole or in part by CBCRA grants, to be posted in the CBCRA Open Access Archive, as soon as possible after publication.

National Research Council (NRC)
[The NRC Senior Executive Committee] SEC has established a policy making it mandatory, starting in January 2009, for NRC institutes to deposit copies of all peer-reviewed publications (articles, proceedings, books, book chapters) and technical reports in NPArC.

Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
Researchers funded by the Foundation after October 1, 2008 are required to make every effort to ensure that the results of their research are published in open access journals (freely available online) or in an online repository, within six months after initial publication.