This document summarizes the results of a 2015-2016 survey of 169 universities in 33 European countries on their open access policies for research publications and data. The key findings were: - 55.6% of institutions reported having an open access policy in place, while 23.7% were in the process of developing one. - Common elements of open access policies included encouraging self-archiving in repositories and providing financial support for open access publishing. - 76.9% of institutions reported having an institutional repository, while barriers to open access included uncertainty around publishers' policies and copyright issues. - Respondents agreed there was a need for additional incentives for open access publishing and guidelines around legal issues of sharing open access

1. EUA questionnaire on Open Access
Key results 2015/2016
Copyright 2017 © by the European University Association. All rights reserved.

2. Questionnaire on Open Access to research publications
Key Characteristics
…2…
Focused on the degree of implementation of institutional Open Access
policies for research publications and research data
The respondents
 169 universities from 33 European countries
October 2015-January 2016
Copyright 2017 © by the European University Association. All rights reserved.

3. Number of respondents: 169/169
55.6%
23.7%
17.2%
3.6%
Yes
My institution is in the process of developing an Open
Access policy (and expects to have one in place within
12 months)
My institution is planning to develop an Open Access
policy (but does not expect to have a policy in place
within 12 months)
My institution is not planning to develop an Open
Access policy
Institutional policies on Open Access
Share of institutions with an Open Access (OA) policy to
research publications
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4. Key elements of institutional OA policies
Number of respondents: 156/163. Question only applicable to institutions who replied “Yes”, “In the process of developing and OA policy” or “Planning to
develop an OA policy”.
64.1
31.4
24.4
14.7
11.5
2.6
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Encouragement policy, recommending researchers to deposit their
publications in an institutional/shared repository (i.e., absence of a
mandate making self-archiving compulsory)
Mandate making it compulsory for researchers to deposit their
research publications in an institutional/shared repository on
acceptance for publication (green route/green open access), and to
make the full text open-access within a specified time period
Financial support from the institution for researchers to publish
their papers open access
Other
Mandate making it compulsory for researchers to deposit their
research publications in an institutional/shared repository on
acceptance for publication (green route/green open access), with
this requirement being linked to internal performance evaluation
Mandate requiring publication in open access (gold route/gold open
access)
Percentage of institutions
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5. Institutional repositories
Number of respondents: 169/169
76.9%
11.8%
9.5%
1.8%
Yes, my institution has an institutional
repository
Yes, my institution participates in a shared
repository
No
Don't know
…5…Copyright 2017 © by the European University Association. All rights reserved.

6. Barriers to Open Access
Number of respondents: between 165 and 168/169, depending on items.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Uncertainty about the scientific publishers’ self-archiving
policies
Concerns over copyright infringement
Limited awareness of Open Access and its potential benefits
Uncertainty over embargo periods
Lack of knowledge of how to deposit material in a repository
Lack of financial support
Percentage of institutions
Frequent Occasional Rare/never
…5…Copyright 2017 © by the European University Association. All rights reserved.

7. Actions needed in the area of Open Access
Note: Percentage of agreement (“strongly agree”)
Number of respondents: 169/169
0 20 40 60 80 100
Development of additional incentives for researchers to
publish their papers Open Access
Guidelines providing clarification of legal issues related
to linking, sharing and re-using Open Access content
Activities to raise awareness about Open Access
Sharing examples of good practice in developing and
implementing institutional Open Access policies
Support for creation and/or development of e-
infrastructures, such as online repositories and…
Percentage of institutions
National European
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8. Existence of institutional guidelines on Open Access
to research data
Number of respondents: 169/169
11.2%
13.6%
72.2%
3%
Yes, formal guidelines
Yes, informal guidelines (guidelines not
formalised, but apparent in the
institutional practices)
No
Don't know
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9. • Reasons for the absence of guidelines/policies
• Examples: novel topic; priority to OA to publications; no mandate
from funders; no national-level policy; lack of awareness; legal
concerns
• Barriers for OA to research data:
• Uncertainty
• Complex area (technical, legal)
• Concerns over costs
• Reduced awareness
Open Access to research data
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10. Actions (focus on European level)
• Policies and guidelines, covering legal issues (e.g. copyright, data
protection, TDM), quality assurance
• Awareness raising activities, sharing best practices
• Supporting the copyright reform in favour of research, making exceptions
for TDM
• Developing, extending and supporting European-level infrastructure for
data storage, access and sharing
• Promoting rewards/incentives for OA to research data (assessment)
• Technical level: definition of standards and procedures
Open Access to research data
…10…Copyright 2017 © by the European University Association. All rights reserved.

11. For more information, please contact us at
EUA-OA-Survey@eua.be
Copyright 2017 © by the European University Association. All rights reserved.