Open access in ERC and EU Horizon 2020: how to comply
*This guidance applies to outputs of the previous H2020 programme. For the current framework, see our page on Horizon Europe: how to comply.*
The European Commission (EC) requires open access to all peer-reviewed research articles resulting from Horizon 2020 project funding.
See and further guides from OpenAIRE on .
Principal Investigators (“beneficiaries”) must deposit a suitable version of their peer-reviewed author accepted manuscript into an appropriate repository, and ensure open access within 6 months of publication (12 months for social sciences and humanities). Grants may be reduced if beneficiaries breach their obligations. A summary of steps is shown below, and .
The European Research Council (ERC) has additional guidelines for open access, requiring all peer-reviewed publications supported in whole or in part by ERC funding to be deposited in a repository. For ERC grants, the open access mandate includes monographs, chapters, edited volumes, etc., as well as articles. See the (PDF), and follow the steps below to comply.
Horizon 2020 steps to open access
- Submit papers to a journal of choice, there is no restriction provided you can comply with the policy. If a researcher chooses to publish in an open access journal, APC costs should be claimed within the project period and budget. Remember to include APC costs in grant applications.
- Deposit the peer-reviewed author accepted manuscript or publisher’s PDF in a repository, either institutional (via Pure) or disciplinary. An embargo period might apply, so you need to check this is less than 6 months (12 months for HSS).
- Acknowledge project funding both in the publication and in the metadata in the format: This project has received funding from the [European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme] under grant agreement No [Number].
- Make sure you add the publication to your final report to the EC.
APC costs in grant applications
The University recommends including provisions for open access in EU grant applications.
If you plan to publish via a paid open access route, the average cost of an Article Processing Charge (APC) is approximately £2,500 for a journal article. It is recommended you consider how many articles will be published as outputs of the project, and multiply by £2,500.
Open access routes for monographs are developing and some publishers offer this option with a Book Processing Charge (BPC) in the region of £6,000 to £15,000.