Journal articles that result from publicly funded research in Norway must be open access within the next seven years, according to new guidelines.

The government said that it expects researchers to “play a vital role” in converting important paywalled journals into open-access ones.

Only in exceptional circumstances would publicly funded research be published in journals that do not allow academics to deposit a copy in a repository, it added.

The Norwegian government outlined its plan for the future of academic publishing in a document titled “National goals and guidelines for open access to research articles”, released on 22 August. It says that Norway’s national goals on open access need to align with those of other countries and the European Union because of the international nature of academic publishing.

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The EU’s Council agreed in May last year that scientific publications should be immediately accessible by 2020.

The Norwegian guidelines say: “The goal of the government is to make all publicly funded Norwegian research articles openly available by 2024. Norway shall be a driving force for all publicly financed research articles to be made openly available at the time of publishing.

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“The research community in particular is expected to play a vital role in promoting open access through their national and international networks, and to convert important journals within their subject areas from closed subscription-based journals to open access titles,” the document adds.

The government also calls on institutions and research funders to help meet the target.

“Openness about the results of research is a core academic value,” it says, adding that open-access publishing benefits the development and application of knowledge.

“Results of publicly funded research should therefore be publicly available,” it continues.

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The document adds that only in “exceptional circumstances” may publicly funded research be published in journals that do not allow an academic repository copy to be made, but it does not specify what these circumstances may be.

holly.else@timeshighereducation.com