The UKRI has recently published its new research data policy, which provides a high-level framework of good practice expectations applicable to most research contexts.
The policy applies to in-scope funding opportunities launched on or after 1 April 2027. For any funding opportunities launched before 1 April 2027 and awards arising from them, please follow current research data guidance and research council-specific policies.
In the meantime, colleagues in Library Research Services are working to update Newcastle University’s research data policy, our guidance and the support we provide, accordingly. If you are concerned about upcoming changes, or you have urgent questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at lrs@ncl.ac.uk.
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) have changed how they are supporting Open Access (OA) publishing. From the 1st of October 2026, CRUK no longer provide financial support to institutions to pay any publishing costs. CRUK-funded research must continue to be made openly available, with unrestricted access.
CRUK requirements
For any research paper accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, CRUK researchers are expected to:
Make the work available (either author accepted manuscript or version of record) through Europe PMC, immediately on publication or no later than six months after publication (where an embargo is applied).
If published open access, use a CC BY 4.0 licence.
Acknowledge funding on the format “This work was supported by Cancer Research UK [Cref./A ref. OR XXXX\123456]’)” and, for trial results, the Cancer Research UK trial number.
All researchers should consider their publishing options before they submit a manuscript, or if their publication is delayed or transferred to a new journal or publisher.
Our publisher agreements allow Newcastle University staff and students who act as corresponding authors to publish OA without additional charges, or receive a discount on article processing charges (APCs). Be aware that agreements vary and are subject to change.
If authors choose to publish in a journal that charges an APC and is not covered by an agreement, any fees would need to be paid by the author(s). Newcastle University does manage open access block grants from UK Research and Innovation, British Heart Foundation and Wellcome, where these funders are acknowledged, see the individual pages for more details.
If you missed the Open Research Conference held at Newcastle in June, see our blog post for details of the day, the sessions and links to some of the presentations.
Check out the library calendar for further courses and dates happening in 2026.
Since its introduction in 2022, the Newcastle University Research Publication and Copyright Policy, also known as our Rights Retention Policy (RRP), has enabled our authors to make their research journal articles and conference proceedings openly available, at no cost, with no embargo, under an open licence. The RRP ensures researchers can retain the rights to their work whilst meeting funder and REF open access policy requirements via dissemination in a repository while publishing in a journal of their choice.
Under the RRP, Newcastle University authors grant the University a non‑exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide licence to make their Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. Authors self-archive their manuscripts, which are then made publicly available in the university repository on the date of first online publication.
Through consistent monthly reporting, we are able to demonstrate the growth in the number of research outputs made openly accessible in our repository via the RRP, since the launch in 2022. This allows us to track how Rights Retention has supported an increased volume of article deposits over the past four years. The chart below highlights this progression, illustrating both the scale and the steady upward trajectory of openly available research articles produced through research connected to the University. Since the policy’s implementation, to date, we have been able to make 1,369 AAMs available under a CC BY licence. These numbers reflect the dedication of our research community, the effectiveness of our open‑access workflows, and the value of authors retaining the rights to share their work openly.
Research carried out by University of Liverpool explored the field weighted citation impact (FWCI) of journal articles, from 2021-2024, across the N8 Research Partnership, for different open access categories, including the impact of having a ‘green’ version of the paper available in a repository.
Across all eight N8 institutions, green (AAM) and hybrid/subscription open access papers consistently came out on top as the most highly cited. Articles that were published and had a green version available had more citations that those without a green version.
Credit: University of Liverpool
The analysis brings together data from several sources: Web of Science to identify corresponding authors, OpenAlex to check for repository versions, and Scopus to measure median FWCI.
The growing adoption of RRPs across the UK is helping to shift the landscape of scholarly publishing. Newcastle University’s position within the N8 Research Partnership has played an important role in our transition, with the N8 institutions simultaneously launching their individual RRP, and as other UK universities launch their own policies the momentum continues to grow. The sector’s collective stance contributes to our ability to assist authors with restrictions they may face when they choose to share their own work openly. While there is more work required to achieve open access to all content, positive change is happening as more of our research is made openly and freely accessible.
We remain committed to supporting all Newcastle University authors in understanding the advantages of depositing and sharing their AAMs, as they navigate this evolving publishing landscape. If you’re new to Rights Retention, unsure about depositing your manuscript, or simply want to learn more, please contact us at openaccess@ncl.ac.uk. We also host monthly drop‑in sessions, offering a friendly and informal space for researchers to ask questions, explore open access routes, and discover how Library Research Services can support at every stage of the publication process.
Are you looking for advice and information on open access or managing publications? Do you have questions about copyright or how to comply with REF? Come to one of our monthly drop-in sessions and meet members of the Library Research Services team, who will be happy to answer questions on:
Copyright and licencing issues relating to your publications
Uploading your publications to our repository and REF
and more!
Whether you’re a seasoned researcher, student or simply keen to explore the possibilities within open access, the session offers a welcoming space to ask questions, gain insights and delve deeper into the realm of open access.
These are informal sessions, however, registration is required for you to receive the online teams link.
While attending the FORCE2026 conference, I had the opportunity to deliver an open research workshop at Newcastle University in Singapore (NUiS). It was a really rewarding experience that highlighted both the growing interest in open research across our global community and the enthusiasm of colleagues to explore how they can make their own research practices more open.
The workshop explored the principles of open research, practical approaches to sharing research processes and outputs, the benefits and challenges involved, and the role researchers can play in fostering a more open research culture. I was delighted by the excellent turnout and enthusiastic engagement of those who attended. Throughout the session, colleagues actively contributed by sharing their own experiences and challenges as we explored how they could implement open research in their own practice.
One particularly encouraging outcome emerged after the event. Inspired by the workshop and subsequent discussions, one participant (Kheng-Lim Goh) volunteered to become an Open Research Champion. This was especially pleasing as it reflects the wider goal of our advocacy for open research: not simply raising awareness, but empowering colleagues to champion good practice within their own communities.
I’d like to thank everyone who attended the workshop for the energy and enthusiasm they brought to this event. I’d especially like to thank Duncan Raynor, CEO of NUiS, for helping to organise the event and for making me feel so welcome during my visit to both the campus and Singapore.
This experience reinforced the value of engaging with colleagues across our international campuses, and I look forward to continuing these conversations in the future—although probably online rather than in person, sadly.
On Tuesday 16th June 2026 Newcastle University held its second open research conference, which built upon the success of the inaugural conference in 2025. In response to feedback from the last conference this year we provided more in-depth workshops and training sessions. The conference aimed to deliver an introduction to open research skills and practical tools, as well as demonstrations of best practice. Discussions included open research in the context of generative Artificial intelligence and replication in social science.
The conference was deliberately cross-disciplinary and staff and postgraduate attendees came from engineering, humanities and social sciences, medical sciences and professional services indicating a growing interest in open research practices across university disciplines. We saw both new and familiar faces and welcomed our first external workshop lead. A welcoming address was given by Candy Rowe, Dean of Research Culture and Strategy.
For the second year running, the conference organisers (Newcastle University’s UKRN Local Network Leads) wish to extend their gratitude towards open research champions and colleagues from library research services who delivered workshops and helped with promotion and organisation.
The most popular session of the day was ‘Play Your Way: Games for Open Research,’ where participants took part in interactive activities designed to introduce key open research concepts in a fun and engaging way. The games feature a board game navigating Open Research across an academic’s career, and a Lego activity to explore the principles of data reproducibility, both of which were developed at Newcastle University.
Feedback from attendees has been positive and has also provided valuable suggestions for future events. We hope that attendees were able to make new connections, learn about new tools to help them be more open and discuss any shared challenges. The conference also acted as an opportunity to promote the work of the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) at Newcastle University and the monthly ReproducibiliTea journal club.
Details of the sessions and workshops are given below and slides can be accessed here.
Using FAIRSharing.com to strengthen your research data management:Amanda Boll, Head of Library Research Services.
Roundtable discussion on the University’s Open Research provision:Nicola Howe, Methodologist & Steve Boneham, Open Research Training & Development Officer.
To learn more about open research at Newcastle University (including training provision), the UKRN Local Network, or the ReproducibiliTea journal club, visit www.ncl.ac.uk/openresearch.
Posted on behalf of Clement Lee and Nicola Howe (UKRN Local Network Leads)
I recently joined around 200 librarians, developers, funders, publishers, and academics at Singapore Management University for FORCE2026, an international conference focused on the future of scholarly communication. The conference theme of “To Go Far, Go Together: Advancing Scholarly Communication Across Boundaries and Disruptions” emphasised the need for global cooperation in the face of increasing technological – and political – disruption.
The tone was set in an excellent opening keynote by SMU President Lily Kong, in which she challenged us to rethink how scholarly contributions are valued for their wider impact in academia and in society. She warned that the use of publication-based proxies for research quality and impact may be relatively easy, but used in isolation they can have a negative impact on research culture. She argued that institutions should recognise a much broader range of contributions, including methodological innovation and influence on policy, education, industry, and communities. However, she was also clear about the scale of the challenge in recognising that “reforming research assessment has proven far more difficult than simply articulating better principles” and that “No university can reform research culture alone” – i.e. we need work across boundaries.
Disruption from AI was the theme of the day 2 keynote by Ian Mulvany, Chief Technology Officer of BMJ Group. He described AI as a ‘jagged frontier’ in which while it may already exceed human capability in some domains that doesn’t mean it will in all. Scientific discovery is currently still mostly a human endeavour, but we are already seeing radical shifts in behaviour of academics with AI impacting on all aspects of scholarly workflows that we need to adapt to when considering how knowledge is created, communicated and trusted. He used the memorable metaphor of ‘dark factories’ in manufacturing to contemplate a future where autonomous AI generates a research question, designs experiments to test it, and writes up the results, all with minimal human involvement. Asking what this would mean for the traditional roles of researcher, publisher and librarian?
In the closing keynote from Professor Ginny Barbour, Co-Chair of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) discussed the state of publishing and “…how we got into such trouble and how we get out of it?” She reflected on ‘disturbed times’ with shifting attitudes towards openness and academia, and how AI risks breaking established scholarly processes, reinforcing biases, and undermining research integrity. However, she also presented ways in which institutions and individuals might help rebuild a better system by championing openness and integrity, by telling uncomfortable truths despite pressure not to, and by educating our communities against emerging threats. She concluded with a positive message about the necessity of disruption based on a gift card that offered the wisdom “If the seas were always calm, we would never build a better boat.”
Beyond the keynotes there was an excellent range of sessions on topics including FAIR data, open access publishing, open research infrastructure, and of course, AI. Across all these sessions I found it refreshing to hear so many different perspectives from around the world and to recognise that we share many of the same challenges with scholarly communication. So my strongest takeaway from FORCE2026 was that addressing these challenges will, as the conference theme suggested, depend on our ability to work across disciplinary, institutional, and national boundaries.
If you’d like to find out more about the conference you can view recordings of the keynotes and slides from other sessions at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/force2026/
(P.S. While away I also managed to run an open research workshop for our colleagues at Newcastle University in Singapore, but that’s for another post…)
