Open Access Policy

Rules of procedure on the open access publishing of scientific articles

1. The University of Iceland encourages its staff to publish their scientific articles in journals which are published in an open access format. The University of Iceland does not directly participate in the possible expenses of open access publishing. Members of academic staff at the University are however, depending on the circumstances, permitted to use their research funding to cover such expenses.
    
2. No later than the date of publication, the author of a scientific article must send the Division of Science and Innovation an electronic copy of the final version of the article. This electronic copy may be submitted in PDF format, as a link to a website, or in another suitable manner.
    
3.  The University of Iceland is authorised to make articles accessible on the internet, though see Article 4.
    
4. An author may request that a certain journal article be made exempt from the provisions of Article 3 if it can be satisfactorily shown that it is not possible to publish the article’s content in an open access outlet. Such exemptions may be permanent or involve the delay of open access publication. The following factors are considered when evaluating requests for exemptions:
    

   a) The academic quality of the journal. 

   The author is invited to publish a scientific article in a prestigious traditional subscription journal with a high impact factor. A key policy target at the University of Iceland is to increase the number of quality publications in all schools within the University. University of Iceland policy places significant emphasis on academic staff selecting a publication outlet that makes rigorous academic demands and is likely to increase the impact of the University’s research work. Emphasis on publishing articles in open access outlets must not reduce the impact of University of Iceland research work at the domestic and international levels. Authors publishing an article in a subscription journal with a high impact factor shall, if possible, also publish the article in an open access online archive.

   b) Publication outlet selected by another party. 

   The author has to defer to the decisions of another party, e.g. the research leader or a co-author, for example at a collaborating university or research centre outside Iceland.

   c) Cost 

   The cost to the author is considered excessive or not in keeping with what would be thought reasonable.

5. Requests for exemptions cf. Article 4 shall be directed to the Division of Science and Innovation through their homepage.
    
6. These rules of procedure are based on the University of Iceland policy on open access to research results and final projects, approved by the University Council 6 February 2014. The Division of Science and Innovation and Division of Academic Affairs shall resolve any disputes that may arise in connection with the implementation of these rules. These rules shall enter into force 1 July 2014.

UI's Strategy for the period 2021-2026 (UI26) states that the University will develop a clear vision that encourages interdisciplinary work and increased research impact. The University will also create a comprehensive vision for research ethics and raise the visibility of research within the University with the aim of promoting interdisciplinary research collaboration.  In order to achieve these goals, the University will work towards guaranteeing open access to research data and findings.The University of Iceland is and aspires to be actively engaged in the international research community. UI researchers publish their work in international outlets in accordance with the rules that apply to academic publications, as well as the standards for accuracy and honest working practices required by the academic community and the University. 

Data collected through research at the University of Iceland Research Fund creates the foundation for knowledge creation that stimulates progress in all areas of Icelandic society. The University of Iceland believes it is essential to provide the research community with easy access to this data as far as possible.

The default rule is that data should be as open as possible, but as closed as necessary. 

The University has a responsibility to preserve research data for future reuse in a way that complies with international standards and the FAIR Principles:

• Findability
• Accessibility
• Interoperability, and
• Reusability 

The University will also take into consideration the fact that practices for managing and sharing data vary depending on subject and circumstances. For example, data protection and privacy issues or commercial interests may justify short or long term exceptions to the default rule about open access.  

The goals of open science will only be achieved if staff at the University of Iceland have access to reliable infrastructure for data storage and support in creating metadata, in order to ensure that data is FAIR.

Lead researchers, for projects large and small, are responsible for creating a data management plan which is regularly updated until the end of the project, at which point the data is disposed of or stored in a long term and, as applicable, open access repository. 

During the UI26 strategic period, the University will work systematically towards improving digital infrastructure and support services in order to achieve these goals and ensure that researchers are able to meet data management and open access requirements set by funding providers and academic journals. The University will also expand services to help staff create data management plans and metadata. 

The Icelandic Social Science Data Service, DATICE, founded in 2018, provides UI staff with services and assistance in preparing data for open access. DATICE will, along with other open repositories at UI, play a key role in strengthening open science services at the University.  

In accordance with work programme 7 in UI26, which addresses open science among other things, the Division of Science and Innovation is accountable for further implementation and review of the University's comprehensive open science strategy, under the authority of the rector and in collaboration with the supervisory committee for UI26, the Science Committee, schools, and the Division of Information Technology.