As stewards of the funds they award, life science research funders are eager to maximize the value of their grants. One low-cost way to do so is to recommend – or better yet require – grantees to publish the outputs of their research (including preprints) using Creative Commons attribution, or CC-BY, licenses.
Why CC-BY? CC-BY allows for the broadest possible research access and reuse rights, while requiring attribution to creators. Choosing CC-BY means that funded research will not only be able to be freely accessed around the world, but also to be reused in a range of settings. For instance, graphics from a paper can be reused on Wikipedia or in open educational resources like textbooks. Translations of the work can be disseminated in more regions of the world. These examples represent just a few of the possible reuse cases that a CC-BY license affords.
Why should funders recommend or require CC-BY? Grantees need clear guidance about how best to license their work. Licensing is a complex topic, and researchers appreciate clear advice that helps them disseminate their work in ways that will be more impactful. Even if it is not yet possible to require a particular license, funders have the opportunity to set norms in their communities by recommending a license, helping to educate grantees and nudge them toward more open practices. Funder requirements can also help enforce a norm among preprint servers to offer or prioritize CC-BY licenses. Although nearly all preprint servers currently allow or require CC-BY licenses, it’s important that they continue to do so in the future.
What does good funder practice look like? ASAPbio’s vision is for a “life sciences communication ecosystem where all papers and other outputs are shared rapidly and without restrictions on access or reuse.” CC-BY licenses for preprints are a tool that support rapid, restriction-free access and reuse. When funders require grantees to preprint, and to do so with a CC-BY license, they ensure that an open, reusable version of a piece of scholarship will be available more quickly for the community to build upon and for the public to use.
What funder practices support tracking of open preprint licensing policy compliance? Funders should provide an easy way for grantees to disclose their preprints’ DOIs on annual and final progress reports. Even if preprints are not required, the presence of a field in a form can prompt grantees to share their work. Grantees should also be encouraged to use an ORCID when they preprint, which will enable further tracking and linking of research outputs. With DOIs and ORCIDs in hand, funders can more easily assess policy compliance. Last, in grantmaking reports, funders can report the proportion of outputs preprinted with open licenses alongside other reporting on open access outcomes.
Exemplar Preprint Licensing Policies:
As stewards of the funds they award, life science research funders are eager to maximize the value of their grants. One low-cost way to do so is to recommend – or better yet require – grantees to publish the outputs of their research (including preprints) using Creative Commons attribution, or CC-BY, licenses.
Why CC-BY? CC-BY allows for the broadest possible research access and reuse rights, while requiring attribution to creators. Choosing CC-BY means that funded research will not only be able to be freely accessed around the world, but also to be reused in a range of settings. For instance, graphics from a paper can be reused on Wikipedia or in open educational resources like textbooks. Translations of the work can be disseminated in more regions of the world. These examples represent just a few of the possible reuse cases that a CC-BY license affords.
Why should funders recommend or require CC-BY? Grantees need clear guidance about how best to license their work. Licensing is a complex topic, and researchers appreciate clear advice that helps them disseminate their work in ways that will be more impactful. Even if it is not yet possible to require a particular license, funders have the opportunity to set norms in their communities by recommending a license, helping to educate grantees and nudge them toward more open practices. Funder requirements can also help enforce a norm among preprint servers to offer or prioritize CC-BY licenses. Although nearly all preprint servers currently allow or require CC-BY licenses, it’s important that they continue to do so in the future.
What does good funder practice look like? ASAPbio’s vision is for a “life sciences communication ecosystem where all papers and other outputs are shared rapidly and without restrictions on access or reuse.” CC-BY licenses for preprints are a tool that support rapid, restriction-free access and reuse. When funders require grantees to preprint, and to do so with a CC-BY license, they ensure that an open, reusable version of a piece of scholarship will be available more quickly for the community to build upon and for the public to use.
What funder practices support tracking of open preprint licensing policy compliance? Funders should provide an easy way for grantees to disclose their preprints’ DOIs on annual and final progress reports. Even if preprints are not required, the presence of a field in a form can prompt grantees to share their work. Grantees should also be encouraged to use an ORCID when they preprint, which will enable further tracking and linking of research outputs. With DOIs and ORCIDs in hand, funders can more easily assess policy compliance. Last, in grantmaking reports, funders can report the proportion of outputs preprinted with open licenses alongside other reporting on open access outcomes.
Exemplar Preprint Licensing Policies: