CARL Institutional Policy Template on Open Access

We – [University X]’s community of scholars – are committed to the democratization of knowledge through open access and recognize that open research and open scholarship practices foster collaborative, community-engaged, reproducible, and impactful scholarship.

• As scholarly authors at [University X], we commit to openly share the products of our research and scholarship.
• To do so, we agree to publish in open access publications and/or deposit our scholarly work in [University X]’s open access institutional repository or in a trusted disciplinary archive as early as possible, ideally sometime between the date of acceptance and the date of publication. If applicable, access the file in question can be suppressed for a period of time in order to meet publisher or granting body requirements.
• To facilitate the dissemination and archiving of our work, we hereby grant to [University X] the non-exclusive permission to archive, preserve, reproduce, and freely disseminate an electronic copy of all scholarly journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers authored by us, provided that these works are properly attributed to the authors, and that it is done for non-commercial purposes only. (For further clarification, Creative Commons defined non-commercial uses “as not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”)

In the spirit of enabling the broadest access to research, accelerating discovery, enabling transparency and reproducibility of research, this policy applies to journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers produced by faculty members, graduate students and any other scholars affiliated with [University X]. In addition to these types of scholarly output, authors are urged to consider depositing into the institutional repository all their scholarly works, regardless of format, including their research data, in order to enhance visibility and impact of these research outputs.

While we strongly believe in the open dissemination of research, we also recognize that we, the University’s authors, maintain full control of our intellectual property. We also recognize that openness may sometimes be at odds with the protection of Indigenous knowledges. The {Specific University Bodies (i.e. Provost’s designate) will therefore waive application of the policy for a particular article or delay access for a specified period of time upon express direction by a [University affiliated] member.

This policy is intended to encourage open access to scholarly work and strengthen author rights. This policy is to be read and interpreted in a manner consistent with relevant collective agreements and University policies related to academic freedom and intellectual property.

This policy comes into force on [date] and applies to all applicable works published after this date.

[Specific university body(ies)] will be responsible for interpreting this policy, resolving disputes concerning its interpretation and application, and recommending changes to the policy to the appropriate university body as necessary.