Applying for APC Funding

What is an APC?

A publisher's Article Processing Charge (APC) is an up-front cost of publication.  Upon payment of the APC, your work will be made Gold OA on the publisher's website, and copyright is returned to the author via the application of a Creative Commons licence to the publisher's version of record.  If the author is publishing in a Hybrid OA journal, then APC payment is optional.  If the author is publishing in a Gold OA journal, then APC payment is required.

Who covers the cost of an APC?

The Department of Research and Innovation holds two budgets to cover the cost of a publisher's APC.  1. For any researchers contracted at the University who are in receipt of a research grant from UKRI, we are provided with a block grant for UKRI to cover the cost of Gold OA to support compliance with the UKRI OA Policy.  

2. The University also has its own separate budget for APCs, for any articles not supported by UKRI research funding.

Applications to the UKRI APC budget must be for fully OA or transformative journals. UKRI will not pay for publishing in hybrid journals (journals containing both open access and subscription content), unless the hybrid journal is part of a publishing sector-wide agreement to become a transformative journal. 

If a journal is part of the University's Read and Publish Agreements then an APC application is unnecessary (unless our deal only partly covers the APC cost of a specific journal). 

How to apply for APC funding

1. Apply for APC funding at the point of submission rather than acceptance.   This ensures that any issues of OA compliance or funding are given sufficient advance notice. If your article is being submitted to a Gold OA journal, then it also ensures that funding for required APC payment is secured.  Other publication costs (i.e. page and colour charges) are not covered by the APC payment.  

2. Download the APC Application Form.  You should complete 'Section 1' (up to 'Justification for OA Publication') 

3. Email your application form to openaccess@port.ac.uk, along with a copy of your drafted manuscript.  Your application is then checked, before being sent to reviewers for a decision.

If you are applying for the UKRI APC budget (for articles that acknowledge UKRI funding), then applications are reviewed by the ADRI only.  If you are applying for the University APC budget (for non-UKRI funded articles), then applications are reviewed first by your REF UoA Coordinator, and the final decision is provided by the ADRI.  Completed applications can expect an outcome within 10 working days.

Eligibility

All current members of academic staff are eligible to apply.  The applicant must be the corresponding author for the article.  Research students and sessional lecturers may apply where they are the corresponding author; however, the specific article should be co-authored with a current member of academic staff.  For articles co-authored with colleagues from other institutions, it is the expectation of the sector that the institution of the corresponding author pays the APC.

Acceptance

If your APC application was successful, then once your article is accepted for publication and you receive the APC invoice from the publisher, forward the email to openaccess@port.ac.uk to arrange payment.  Make sure you select the CC-BY licence with the publisher.

Approvals

If your APC application was successful, then your approval will continue into the next financial year so long as your article remains in the peer-review process with the journal identified in your application form.  However, please note that this is subject to a process of checking closer to financial year-end for the specific budget.

Journal rejections

Funding allocated to a successful APC application is conditional upon publication in the specified journal. The funds cannot be used for another journal. If your your article is rejected and not accepted for publication, then funds previously committed is cancelled.

Appeals

If your APC application is unsuccessful, then you can appeal the decision. Contact openaccess@port.ac.uk to request an appeal.