Policy for Open Access to Scholarly Publications

Last updated 12.8.2022

The Policy for open access to scholarly publications defines the principles, objectives and measures to which by committing and promoting the research community in Finland can achieve equal access to researched information.The policy is applicable in all disciplines and in various research organisations. The efforts of independent organisations to increase open access are supported by policy measures and principles.

The policy consists of common strategic principles and two sub-principles: The Open access section for magazine and conference articles was completed in 2019, and the Open Access Part of Compilation and Single Works is planned to be completed in autumn 2022. The principles define the general conditions for striving for open access to research publications. They articulate principles that are important to the research community and must be adhered to in order to achieve openness. The objectives recorderd in the sub-principles are more time-bound goals and are accompanied by concrete measures.

Timeline for policy development

The formation of the policy began in the then National Strategy Group on Open Science (now the National Steering Group for Open Science and Research) in 2018. Members of the expert panel for open publishing joined in 2019. Introduction, principles and the policy component for open access to journal and conference articles were publicly open for comments between 28 January and 26 February 2019 and from 10 May 2019 to 7 June 2019.

The ensemble was approved by the National Steering Group for Open Science and Research on 31 October 2019.

The policy component for compilations and individual works was open for comments between 7 February 2022 and 18 March 2022.

Comments for the policy: