Summary

To assist potential authors, BioMed Central has collated the following information from major funders of biomedical research:

• whether they explicitly allow payment of article processing charges for open access publication (either from grants, or from a separate fund)
• whether they have signed one of the major declarations in support of open access (Berlin, Bethesda, Budapest)
• whether they have published an official policy statement encouraging open access
• whether their open access policy encourages or requires deposit of research articles in an open access repository

This information is based on a survey of funders carried out by BioMed Central in late 2005, together with information taken from publicly available statements. We have so far been able to obtain information on open access policies from 35 of the 79 funders listed.

Summary

• 38 funders have confirmed that they are willing to fund article processing charges
• 16 funders are signatories of one of the major international declarations in support of open access
• 34 funders have an official policy in support of open access
• 31 of these funder policies request or in some cases require funding recipients to deposit resulting research articles in an open access repository

Not all funders have yet provided information about their open access policy, and so gaps remain in the information below. If you can help fill those gaps, or if your funder is not listed, please let us know.
Send details of any additions or corrections to: info@biomedcentral.com     
Last update: April 2009

International
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
British Council			-	-	-
Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC)			-	-	-
European Commission (FP7)		Grant funds may be used	-	Policy		Required, 6 or 12 month embargo (max)
European Research Council (ERC)		Grant funds may be used	-	Policy		Required, 6 month embargo (max)
Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP)		Grant funds may be used	-	-	-
TWAS: The Academy of Science for the Developing World			-	-	-
Argentina
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)			-	-	-
Fundacion ANTORCHAS			-	-	-
Australia
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Australian Research Council (ARC)			-	Policy		Requested - non-deposit must be justified
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)			-	Policy		Requested - non-deposit must be justified
Austria
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)		Additional funds available	Berlin	Policy		Required - 6 month embargo (max)
Belgium
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS)			Berlin	-	-
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO)		Grant funds may be used	Berlin	Policy		Required, 1 year embargo (max)
Brazil
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
FAPESP		Separate central fund available for in-house research	-		-
National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)			-	-	-
Canada
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance (CBCRA)		Grant funds may be used.	-	Policy		Requested (6 month embargo max).
Canadian Health Services Research Foundation		Grant funds may be used.	-	Policy		Required (6 month embargo max). Open access on publisher's site is also allowed.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research		Grant funds may be used.	-	Policy		Required (6 month embargo max). Open access on publisher's site is also allowed.
National Cancer Institute of Canada		Grant funds may be used.	-	Policy		Required (6 month embargo max) - effective from July 2009.
National Research Council			-	Policy		Required - effective from January 2009.
Chile
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Fondo Nacional De Desarrollo Cientifico Y Tecnologico (FONDECYT)			-	-	-
Iniciativa Cientifica Milenio			-	-	-
China
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)			Berlin	-	-
Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)			Berlin	-	-
Denmark
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Danish National Research Council		Grant funds may be used	-		-
Finland
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Academy of Finland		Additional funds available to cover APC payments	-		-
France
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)		Additional funds available to cover APC payments	Berlin	Policy		Encouraged
INSERM		Grant funds may be used. Separate central fund available.	Berlin	Policy		Encouraged
Institut Pasteur			-	-	-
Germany
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft		Grant funds may be used	Berlin	Policy		Requested
Max Planck Society		Grant funds may be used. Additional funds available in some cases	Berlin	Policy		Encouraged
Greece
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
National Hellenic Research Foundation			Berlin	-	-
India
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Indian Council of Medical Research		Grant funds may be used	-	-	-
Ireland
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Health Research Board		Grant funds may be used	-	-	-
Israel
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Israel Science Foundation		Grant funds may be used	-	-	-
Italy
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)		Additional funds available	-
Telethon		Grant funds may be used	-		-
Jamaica
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Scientific Research Council			-	-	-
Japan
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS; Gakushin)			-	-	-
Lebanon
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
National Council for Scientific Research Lebanon (CNRS)			-	-	-
Lithuania
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Science Council of Lithuania			-	-	-
Malaysia
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Academy of Sciences Malaysia/ Akademi Sains Malaysia (Scientific Advancement Fund Allocation (SAGA) Secretariat)			-	-	-
Mexico
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT)			-	-	-
Netherlands
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)		Grant funds may be used	Berlin	-	-
New Zealand
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Health Research Council of New Zealand			-	-	-
Norway
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Research Council of Norway			-	Policy		Required (in compliance with publisher-specified embargo, if any)
Poland
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
State Committee for Scientific Research (KBN)			-	-	-
Portugal
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)			-	-	-
Russia
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Russian Foundation for Basic Research			-	-	-
Russian Human Science Fund			-	-	-
Singapore
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR)			-	-	-
South Africa
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
National Research Foundation		Grant funds may be used	-	-	-
South African Medical Research Council		Grant funds may be used	-	-	-
Spain
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Consejo Superior de Invesigaciones Científicas (CSIC)		Separate central fund available	-	-	-
Sweden
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research		Grant funds may be used	-	-	-
Swedish Research Council		Grant funds may be used	Berlin	-	-
Switzerland
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)		Grant funds may be used	-	-	Required
Thailand
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
BIOTEC		Grant funds may be used. Separate fund also available	-	Policy	-
National Research Council of Thailand			-	-	-
National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)			-	-	-
Thailand Research Fund (TRF)			-	-	-
Turkey
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey			-	-	-
UK	The Research Information Network (RIN) has produced a useful guidance document for UK researchers with advice on payment of open access publication charges.
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
Arthritis Research Campaign		Additional funds available	-	Policy	UKPMC	Required, 6 month embargo (max)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)			-	Policy	UKPMC	Required
British Heart Foundation		Additional funds available	-	Policy	UKPMC	Required, 6 month embargo (max)
Cancer Research UK			-	Policy	UKPMC	Required, 6 month embargo (max)
Chief Scientists Office, Scottish Executive (CSO)			-	Policy	UKPMC	Required, 6 month embargo (max)
Department of Health (NHS/NIHR)		Grant funds may be used - additional funding available in some cases	-	Policy	UKPMC	Required, 6 month embargo (max)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council		Grant funds may be used, or may be treated as indirect cost	-	Policy	UKPMC	Required
Medical Research Council (MRC)*		Grant funds may be used, or may be treated as indirect cost	-	Policy	UKPMC	Required, 6 month embargo (max)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)*		Grant funds may be used, or may be treated as indirect cost	-	Policy	UKPMC	Required
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)		Grant funds may be used, or may be treated as indirect cost		Policy	UKPMC	Required.
Wellcome Trust		Additional funds available	Bethesda	Policy	UKPMC	Required, 6 month embargo (max)
USA
Funder	Article Processing Charges		OA declarations	Official policy on OA	OA deposit policy†
American Association for Cancer Research			-	-	-
American Heart Association			-	-	-
Autism Speaks			-	Policy	-	Required, 12 month embargo (max)
Berkley, University of California			Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity	Policy	-
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation			-	AIDS grants require open data sharing	-
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)		Additional funds available	-	Policy		Encouraged 12 month embargo (max)
Cornell University			Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity	Policy	-
Dartmouth College			Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity	Policy	-
Department of. Energy (DOE) - Office of Biological and Environmental Research			-	-	-
Harvard University			Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity	Policy	-
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)		Grant funds may be used. Central payment arrangements are also in place with publishers including BioMed Central	Bethesda	Policy	-	Required 6 month embargo (max)
March of Dimes			-	-	-
National Science Foundation (NSF)			-	-	-
National Institutes of Health (NIH)		Grant funds may be used	Bethesda	Policy		Requested 12 month embargo (max). UPDATE (Jan 2008): NIH has been instructed by the US goverment to make this policy mandatory
Rockefeller Foundation		Grant funds may be used	-	-	-

* Research Councils UK has also indicated in its position statement that institutions may choose to treat article processing charges as an indirect research cost, under the 'Full Economic Costing' model.

† For a list of open access deposit policies, including both funder policies and institutional policies, see the Registry of Open Access Repository Material Archiving Policies (ROARMAP)