Funding agency requirements: Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications
The Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications emerges from the belief that “advancement is made possible through widespread and barrier-free access to cutting-edge research and knowledge, enabling researchers, scholars, clinicians, policymakers, private sector and not-for-profit organizations and the public to use and build on this knowledge.” (Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications (2026); to come into effect Jan. 1 2027). The policy in its current and revised forms is meant to make the results of publicly-funded research accessible while increasing the dissemination and exchange of peer-reviewed journal publications derived from funding.)
New, Revised Tri-Agency OA Policy (2026)
The revised Tri-Agency OA Policy "will come into effect on January 1, 2027 and apply to grants and Chairs awarded on or after this date" (see: "Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications," 2026).
Researchers are encouraged to plan for the policy revisions as soon as possible. Requirements apply to peer-reviewed research articles that were funded, in whole or in part, by the Agency.
Agency grantees and chairholders must:
Acknowledge Agency contributions in peer-reviewed research articles, quoting the funder name and funding reference number (such as the FRN or Application Number) and any applicable persistent identifiers (PIDs);
Retain rights over the dissemination of any peer-reviewed research article arising from agency-funded research, such as a Creative Commons (CC) licence, to the Accepted Manuscript (AM) and/or Version of Record (VoR) used to comply with the Policy. The Agencies strongly encourage authors to use the least restrictive license (preferably, CC-BY), wherever possible. Unclear about CC Licences? Learn more about Creative Commons on our Copyright Guide]
Inform the publisher of the author’s obligations and rights under the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications (2026) when submitting an article for publication; and
Ensure the peer-reviewed research article is immediately and freely available in a Canadian institutional repository (Spectrum at Concordia) or made available through a trusted Canadian platform at the time of publication, even where the article is freely available on the publisher’s website. Spectrum is the institutional repository at Concordia University. The version deposited may be either the version of record (VoR) or author-accepted manuscript (AAM), must be deposited under an open licence (Creative Commons or equivalent)
In cases where the journal and/or publisher questions authors about them retaining rights over the content of their article and making the AM or VoR open access in a repository at the time of publication, authors should contact the agency that funded the research to determine the author’s options to comply with the Policy.
Unsure about versioning and peer-review? Learn about Versioning and OA publishing.
Tri-Agency OA Policy (2015)
NSERC and SSHRC Grants
- Applies to NSERC and SSHRC grants awarded May 1, 2015, onward
- Agency-supported research must be freely accessible within 12 months of publication
CIHR Grants
- Applies to CIHR grants awarded January 1, 2008, onward
- Agency-supported research must be freely accessible within 12 months of publication
How can I make my publications open access?
1) Decide on where you are aiming to publish open access before submission. What version can you publish (immediately) open access with a corresponding Creative Commons licence? Can you afford the article processing charge, if applicable?
2) Deposit the peer-reviewed version of your article (also known as the accepted manuscript or postprint) in an open-access repository such as Concordia University’s Spectrum. Note that the Tri-Agency has implemented a rights retention strategy to facilitate compliance with its OA policy at no additional cost to the researcher. Learn more about publishing contracts and your author rights. Learn more about rights retention and Plan S.
3) Publish in an open-access journal. For journals that use Article Processing Charges (APCs), these APCs are allowable grant expenses (see use of grant funds). Concordia University Library supports a range of APC discounts.
Full Tri-Agency policy and additional reading
New Draft, Revised Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications, 2026 (English; Français)
Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications, 2015 (English; Français)
Tri-Agency Frequently Asked Questions (English; Français)
See related guide: Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) Open Access Policy
Review journals' open archiving policies using Open Policy Finder.
Questions?
The Library is here to support researchers with meeting these new requirements. Contact your subject librarian OR Rachel Harris, Scholarly Publishing Librarian