Canada’s major research funders, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), also known as the “Tri-Agency” have launched a call for feedback on the Draft, Revised Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications. The deadline to provide comments is March 31, 2025. Feedback is accepted via this form. 

Though the revised policy is still in draft format, it offers us a useful look at what’s coming for Canadian researchers who receive SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR grants or awards starting on January 1, 2026. Read on for more information about these changes and what they might mean for you. 

Changes to the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy 

 Research articles must be open access immediately at time of publication. The previous policy permitted embargoes; researchers could make a version of their article available open access 12 months after publication. The 2025 revised policy states that researchers are required to make a version of their article available open access immediately upon publication. 

 Research articles must be deposited in a Canadian institutional repository immediately at time of publication. The previous policy offered a number of ways that researchers could fulfil the requirement to make their work open access. The 2025 revised policy states that researchers are required to deposit a version of their article immediately at time of publication, noting that the “version deposited may be either the version of record (VoR) or author-accepted manuscript (AAM) and must be deposited under an open license (Creative Commons or equivalent).” All research articles must be deposited in a Canadian Institutional repository, even articles that are published in fully open access journals. 

 Researchers must retain rights over the dissemination of any peer-reviewed research article arising from agency-funded research. The previous policy did not have a rights retention clause. The 2025 revised policy states that researchers are required to inform their publishers about their obligation to make their research articles immediately available upon publication, and that “instructions and a template letter will be provided” when the final policy is released. 

 Research articles must acknowledge Tri-agency funding. The 2025 revised policy states that researchers are required to acknowledge financial support from the Tri-agency by “quoting the funder name and funding reference number (e.g., FRN, Application ID),” with further details about what this should look like when the final policy is released. 

How can I comply with the new Tri-Agency Policy and the SFU OA Policy? 

Most SFU researchers will be able to fulfil both the new Tri-Agency Open Access Policy and the SFU Open Access Policy by depositing their author-accepted manuscript (the version after peer review, but before the journal applies final layouts, etc.) to Summit, the SFU institutional research repository. In some circumstances, authors may be able to deposit the Version of Record (VoR). In an instance where “authors are prohibited by the journal and/or publisher from depositing the VoR or AAM in a repository at the time of publication” the revised Tri-Agency Open Access Policy clarifies that “preprints deposited under an open license will be accepted as compliant with this policy. Preprints should be marked as “unrefereed version”.”

Looking for support interpreting policy language? 

We know that it can be difficult to navigate your requirements and obligations regarding funder open access policies, the SFU Open Access Policy, as well as publisher or journal permissions. We’re here to support you! Get in touch with the SFU Library Digital Scholarship team for assistance interpreting policy language, as well as any other scholarly publishing questions. We can be reached at digital-scholarship@sfu.ca.