Unlocked Issue 3 | August 2024

August 27, 2024

Welcome to Unlocked

The Gates Foundation Open Access Newsletter 

Welcome to our third issue of Unlocked, the Gates Foundation Open Access Newsletter. Through this newsletter, we aim to provide updates and insights into the OA policy and projects at the foundation.

VeriXiv: Now Accepting Preprint

In our previous newsletter we shared an introduction to VeriXiv, a new verified preprint platform that improves research integrity while enabling the rapid availability of research.

VeriXiv will support researchers in complying with the Gates Foundation’s refreshed open access policy which requires all their funded research to be published as a preprint starting January 2025

To support research integrity, VeriXiv will conduct rigorous pre-publication checks. Each VeriXiv submission will undergo twenty ethics and integrity checks to assess a range of issues, including plagiarism, image manipulation, author verification, and competing interests. 

In addition, open research transparency checks will also check whether the data is available in an appropriate repository and whether methods have been included to support reproducibility. Each preprint will have clear labeling so that readers know the level of verification conducted on the article and which levels have been passed. 

VeriXiv submissions are now open! Submit your Gates-funded preprint here.  

Now Available for Viewing, Webinars on VeriXiv and Preprints

View the recent webinars on the foundation’s Open Access Policy Refresh and launch of  VeriXiv.

  • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2025 Open Access Policy Refresh: Introducing VeriXiv
    In this webinar, we will explain the recent changes to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s open access policy. The foundation launched VeriXiv a new verified preprint platform that improves research integrity while enabling the rapid availability of research. We will explain how the verified preprint model aligns with the principles of transparency and equity underpinning the Foundation’s policy refresh. (Video)
     
  • Demystifying Preprints: The Benefits of Early Sharing in Research
    The recent changes to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s open access policy includes the requirement for all Gates-funded research to be published as a preprint from January 2025. Are you unfamiliar with preprinting? Have concerns about complying with this policy? Come along to this webinar where and learn more about the benefits of preprinting and how you can get involved with VeriXiv. (Video)
     
  • How to Submit and Publish a Verified Preprint on VeriXiv
    In this webinar, we will demonstrate the VeriXiv submission and publication process, including the author requirements and pre-publication ethics and integrity checks that will follow submission. The session will outline the requirements for authors to publish both a ‘verified preprint’ and an ‘open research preprint’, including an explanation of the different checks involved for each form of preprint on VeriXiv. (Video)

Spotlight: AfricArXiv 

AfricArXiv is a community-led digital archive for African research communication. By enhancing the visibility of African research, we enable discoverability and collaboration opportunities for African scientists on the continent as well as globally. 

For more information view the webinar at AfricArXiv: A Research Funder’s Open Access Policy (Video)

Spotlight: PREreview     ​​​​​​

We are delighted to announce that the Gates foundation is supporting PREreview via a three-year grant to support research communities in adopting and advocating for open and equitable peer-review practices.  

PREreview was founded in 2017 by practicing scientists who believed in the unique opportunity offered by preprints to challenge the status quo of knowledge dissemination and evaluation. Over the past six years, we’ve worked tirelessly to build the technical and social infrastructure to actively fuel a culture shift towards a kinder, more equitable and collaborative scholarly evaluation landscape that centers the needs and experiences of a diverse community of experts.  

For more information, please read PREreview welcomes new funding to support our efforts over the next three years (Link)

Thoughts & Talk

News and Responses to the 2025 Open Access Policy Refresh

  • The Guardian: Academic journals are a lucrative scam – and we’re determined to change that (Link)
  • Chemical & Engineering News: The future of science publishing (Link) ​
  • LSE Impact Blog: Designer Science – Why big brand journals harm research (Link)
  • Stockholm University: ​​​​Open access on the rise in life science (Link)

Looking Ahead to Open Access Week 2024 

Open Access Week  October 21st – 27th, 2024 

This year, International Open Access Week will take place from October 21 – 27, 2024. The theme this year is “Community over Commercialization.” For more information about International Open Access Week, please visit www.openaccessweek.org/.