Non-corresponding authors task and finish group

Exploring the issue of non-corresponding authorship considering UKRI, and other funders’ stipulations that all outputs resulting from their funding should be made open access.

The task and finish group explored the issue of non-corresponding authorship considering UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and other funders’ stipulations that all outputs resulting from their funding should be made open access, irrespective of the role the researcher plays in the publication process.

This group was convened by Jisc and the Publishers Association for the higher education and publishing sectors with the aim of finding a solution whereby non-corresponding authors funded by UKRI could participate in transitional agreements (TAs) and other open access (OA) agreements in a way that was fair, affordable and inclusive.

The group has shared their findings with UKRI and recommended that monitoring of the issue be absorbed into UKRI’s light touch review of their open access policy. Members have assented to the formal closure of the group, with the possibility of reconvening in a year's time to reflect and act on any feedback from UKRI.

Guiding principles

  • Ethics - Any proposed solutions should not result in a situation where authors’ individual academic contributions are misrepresented or distorted in order to publish openly.
  • Sustainability - Consideration should be given to the ongoing sustainability of any proposed solutions - to relevant parties and those involved in the research process.
  • Bureaucracy - Arrangements should promote efficiency and avoid introducing friction in the workflow, to authors, to institutions, funders and publishers.
  • Equity - Arrangements should advance equality of opportunity for all authors.
  • Flexibility - Whilst we will seek to harmonise and simplify arrangements, arrangements may need to differ depending on publishing profile and workflows.
  • Evidence-based - We use data to understand the scale of publishing by non-corresponding authors to inform discussions about proposed solutions.
  • Scalability - Proposed solutions must be scalable for all parties - regardless of organisation size, publishing profile, or funding profile.

Briefing paper

Final report

Meeting dates

For further information on the group, please contact Anna Hughes (anna.hughes@jisc.ac.uk)

Membership

  • Caren Milloy, director of licensing, Jisc (chair)
  • Anna Hughes, scholarly communications and engagement officer, Jisc (convenor)
  • Rachel Bruce, head of open research, UKRI (observer member)
  • Anna Vernon, head of portfolio, content licensing, Jisc
  • Caroline Cummins, Head of Policy & Public Affairs, Publishers Association
  • Niamh Malin, data analyst, University of Cambridge
  • Sarah Thompson, head of content and open research, University of York
  • Arwen Tapping, librarian, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
  • Chris Banks, assistant provost (space) & director of library services, Imperial College London
  • Martin Wolf, head of open research, University of Liverpool
  • Annette Ramsden, scholarly communications & repository manager, University of Central Lancashire
  • Jennifer Bayjoo, head of open research services at Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Leah Maughan, scholarly communications librarian, Northumbria University
  • Maria Follett, researcher engagement and collections manager, Liverpool John Moores University
  • Kathryn Sharples, vice president open research, Wiley
  • Caroline Nevison, director of open access agreements, Springer Nature
  • Matthew Day, head of open research policy and partnerships, Cambridge University Press
  • Victoria Eva, vice president, global policy, Elsevier
  • Daniel Keirs, head of journal strategy and performance, IOP Publishing
  • Rhodri Jackson, publishing director, open access and Asia Journals, Oxford University Press
  • Tom Hibbard, director, production technology development, SAGE Publishing
  • Gaynor Redvers-Mutton, associate director business development & sales, Biochemical Society
  • Eleanor Souster, head of transformative agreements, Taylor & Francis Group
  • Elizabeth Newbold, open science services group leader, STFC

Terms of reference

​Remit

Recognising that research funders (including UKRI) require that all peer-reviewed research articles, including reviews and conference papers that acknowledge their funding, be published under OA terms, this group focused on:

  • Understanding the issues related to co-authors and their ability to make their research outputs OA under TAs
  • Suggesting solutions that are acceptable to both in a way that minimises additional costs for both sectors where feasible
  • Making recommendations that are sustainable, affordable, and easy to implement for all

It considered the technical, ethical, and financial concerns associated with the co-author being the funded author (rather than the CA), and sought to progress the current recommendation that the UKRI-funded research organisation can use its discretion as to whether to pay an Article Process Charge (APC) using its block grant and/or other sources of funding.

Core aims

  • Provide leadership for both sectors
  • Act as a conduit between the higher education and publishing sectors for the agreement, communication, oversight and reporting on objectives and progress
  • Facilitate debate and action to help implement long term solutions to challenges in publication and acquisition of research output

Membership and recruitment

  • Research libraries; representatives from a cross section of institutions with varying research intensity
  • Publishers; representatives from a cross section of publishers
  • Observers from Jisc, UKRI, and the Publishers Association

In addition, there were occasionally other members, as follows: extra observers from Jisc, UKRI, and the Publishers Association; Jisc experts, and publishing representatives deputising for colleagues.

Recruitment

Recruitment ensured that the higher education sector members were representative of a cross section of institutions with varying research intensity, and that the publishing sector members represented companies of all sizes and specialisms, who produce both digital and print books, research journals and educational resources across all genres and subjects.

Applications for membership from the higher education sector were via the following mailing lists and groups:

  • RLUK (Research Libraries UK) members
  • UKCORR (United Kingdom Council of Research Repositories)
  • Jisc Content Expert Group
  • Jisc Transitional agreements oversight group

​Applications for membership from the publishing sector were via the Publishers Association.