Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust’s grant condition 6(iii) states “All research papers that have been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and are supported in whole or in part by the Grant, must be made available from Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC) as soon as possible, and in any event within six months of publication, in line with the Trust’s Open Access policy: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Policy/Policy-and-position-statements/WTD002766.htm
To comply with the policy, authors can either
- pay an open access fee and the publisher makes the paper immediately open access at their site, and deposits immediately in UKPMC (preferred option), or
- self-archive the peer-reviewed author manuscript in Europe PMC: the publisher version is available to subscribers only and the Europe PMC version is freely available within six months. N.B. Publisher policy must support this option.
Library staff can help deposit papers in Europe PMC and will also deposit an appropriate version in Research@StAndrews: Full Text via Pure, to provide maximum visibility to the research output.
The Wellcome Trust has provided money to the University specifically to cover article fees for publishing in open access journals. These journals may be completely open access (such as BioMed Central or Public Library of Science) or ‘hybrid’, which means that the journal is still accessed by subscription but provides individual articles with an open access option.
Since deposit in Europe PubMed Central is not optional for Wellcome grant recipients, authors should not sign publisher copyright agreements which prevent them from depositing items within six months of publication, as this would breach the conditions of grant and may jeopardise future funding applications.
See the Wellcome Trust authors’ guide and FAQ – regularly updated, this guide covers details of the policy and how to meet the requirements.
The Trust also provides a list of frequently used journals with specific advice on how best to comply.
To find out more about using the Wellcome Trust fund for open access fees, contact Jackie Proven in the library.
How to claim Wellcome Trust open access fees
1. Confirm that the journal you plan to publish in has a policy that complies with Wellcome Trust requirements.
Refer to the list of frequently used journals with specific advice or check the SHERPA RoMEO website which will show whether a specific journal publisher’s policy complies with Wellcome requirements under “Mandated OA”.
If you choose the paid open access route, proceed to Step 2.
If the journal does not have an open access option but is still Wellcome Trust compliant (ie allows archiving in Europe PMC) you should deposit in Europe PMC as soon as possible. Contact Jackie Proven if you need help with this.
2. Notify the publisher you want to pay open access fees
You will usually need to complete an ‘article sponsorship form’ or similar with details including the Wellcome Trust grant number. We suggest you ask that invoices are sent directly to:
Jackie Proven, University Library, University of St Andrews, North Street, St Andrews, KY16 9TR
Email: jep10@st-andrews.ac.uk Tel: 01334 462323
Please note that page and colour plate charges cannot be claimed under this scheme, and that there is no exemption from VAT.
3. Claim open access fees
If you have chosen the paid open access option, complete the Claim Form for Wellcome Trust Open Access Fees (Word, 38 KB).
The easiest method is for the Library to arrange direct payment of an invoice, or we can reimburse a relevant department.
Send the form and required documents (invoice or proof of payment) to Jackie Proven. If you are paying the fee initially yourself or completing any internal fund transfers, please use the description “Wellcome OA publication fee”, and specify the Journal name.
