Unlocked Issue 7 | December 2025
Welcome to UNLOCKED
The Gates Foundation Open Access Newsletter
December 2025 | In This Issue
From Policy to Practice: Open Access Milestones in 2025
As we wrap up 2025, the Gates Foundation is celebrating a landmark year for open science—one that saw the foundation’s refreshed Open Access Policy take full effect, new momentum around verified preprints with VeriXiv, and growing partnerships that make publishing more inclusive and equitable for researchers everywhere. From advancing collaborations with PLOS, PREreview, and Editage to clearer guidance that helps grantees share their research immediately and widely, the community’s energy has been the real headline. Thank you for reading, sharing, and building with us—here’s to even more openness, integrity, and impact in 2026!
New Year, New Norm: Preprint Your Gates-Funded Manuscripts
All Gates-funded manuscripts must be posted as a preprint on a recognized server with a CC BY (or equivalent) license (e.g., bioRxiv, medRxiv, or VeriXiv).
It’s as easy as 1,2,3:
- Post your preprint to a recognized server—at /or before journal submission (earlier is encouraged). Include your Gates Foundation acknowledgement and grant number.
- Apply CC BY (or equivalent) license so others can reuse and build on your work.
- If you cannot post a preprint, you can upload your Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) to a compliant repository to comply with the Open Access Policy.
Questions? Learn more about how to comply with the Gates Foundation’s Open Access Policy.
Who Owns Our Knowledge? An Open Access Ambassadors Recap
International Open Access Week 2025 asked “Who Owns Our Knowledge?” and our Ambassadors answered with lived examples. As part of a short series created in partnership with the Gates Foundation, three science-focused creators—Will Flanary (Dr. G), Jordan Harrod, and Kimberley Wilson—shared humorous, insightful stories and practical ideas for the future of open access.
- Dr. G (Will Flanary) — how publication fees shut out early-career researchers, and how preprints/open sharing speed discovery (especially in family medicine).
Watch: | Instagram (paywalls) | Instagram (open access) - Kimberley Wilson — how paywalls widen global health inequality, plus practical ways to open up participation in research. Listen/Read: Podcast (Acast) | Instagram – Story | Blog-Monumental Health
- Jordan Harrod — barriers to accessing publicly funded science and the prestige vs. openness choice facing early-career researchers. Watch: YouTube (paywalls) | YouTube (prestige vs. openness)
Spotlight: VeriXiv — Step-by-Step Preprint Submission
New to VeriXiv? This short walk-through shows exactly how to submit your Gates-funded manuscript as a preprint—required under our Open Access Policy.
VeriXiv is a verified preprint platform developed with F1000 to help you share findings rapidly while strengthening research integrity.
Watch Now: Step-by-Step Guide to Submitting Your Preprint on VeriXiv (YouTube)
What you’ll see covered at a glance: creating your account, uploading your manuscript, adding authors & funders, declaring data availability, choosing your license, and submitting.
