The University of Bologna has joined the national CARE-CRUI agreement signed with BMJ. The transformative agreement covers both the subscription fees for accessing The BMJ and the Standard collection subscribed by the University of Bologna and the fees for publishing Open Access in hybrid journals, in a range of full Open Access journals, as well as in all hybrid journals that will be converted to Open Access during the term of the agreement. Therefore, authors can publish Open Access at no additional costs.

  

SUMMARY SHEET FOR PUBLICATION

Agreement duration: 2023-2024. Activated in July 2024. 

Open Access publishing obligation: No.

Requirements for covering publishing costs: elegibility of the corresponding author (see the dedicated FAQ), journal and article type.

List of the eligible journals: 2024 list [.xlsx 10 KB] (see the dedicated FAQ). 

Types of eligible articles: Original Research Papers, as explained in the dedicated FAQ.
Available fund: for hybrid journals, unlimited fund; for full OA journals, annual limited national fund.

Licence: see the dedicated FAQ.

Self-archiving mode (Green Open Access): authors can deposit the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) (post-print) version of their articles in the institutional repository, or publish it on their personal websites. The publication will be freely accessible, provided that it includes the link to the published version of the article on BMJ’s platform and the following text: “This article has been accepted for publication in [insert journal, volume, issue] following peer review, and the Version of Record can be accessed online at [insert full DOI e.g. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/xxxxx]. © Authors  [insert year]”; provided that – should a retraction, expression of concern, or significant correction be applied to the version of the article which was published by BMJ – authors state this and link clearly to BMJ’s published notice; provided that all BMJ trademarks (and co-owner trademarks where applicable) must be removed.

 

FURTHER INFORMATION

Which authors may be eligible?

Only corresponding authors already affiliated with the University of Bologna on the date the article is accepted are eligible, including academics with fixed-term contracts such as PhD students, research fellows, fixed-term assistant professors, specialisation school students, etc.

In such cases, authors must submit their contributions via their institutional email address (i.e.: name.surname@unibo.it or name.surname@studio.unibo.it).

Which are the eligible journals?

Authors can publish in the hybrid journals and the hybrid journals that will be converted to Open Access during the term of the agreement, in The BMJ and in a range of full Open Access journals, accessible on the BMJ Journals platform.

Here is a list [.xlsx 10 KB] of the eligible journals in 2024.

Which are the eligible types of article?

Eligible types of article on hybrid journals:

  • Clinical Audit
  • Clinical Science
  • Clinical Trial
  • Current Controversy
  • Extended Essay
  • Feature Article
  • Laboratory Science
  • Methodology
  • Original Research
  • Protocol
  • Qualitative and Mixed Methods
  • Quality Improvement Report
  • Quality Improvement Short Report
  • Research and Reporting Methodology
  • Research Methods and Reporting
  • Special Article
  • State of the Science
  • Student Essay
  • Student Submission
  • Systematic Review
  • Theory and Methods


Eligible types of article on full OA journals:

  • Cohort Profile
  • Epidemiological Study
  • Original Research
  • Protocol
  • Quality Education Report
  • Quality Improvement Programme
  • Quality Improvement Report
  • Research Methods and Reporting
  • Systematic Review
  • Update to Living Article
  • World Trauma Congress (4th) Article

What happens if the annual national fund is exhausted?

The agreement covers the Open Access publication fees in full Open Access journals for a limited number of articles. In case the national annual fund is exhausted, the publisher inhibits on its platform the possibility of requesting the coverage of the Open Access publishing costs through the transformative agreement, no longer showing the University of Bologna in the list of institutions that have an agreement of this type. Authors will publish their articles in Open Access bearing their own costs.

In hybrid journals, coverage is unlimited.

Under which kind of licence will articles be published?

The standard licence is CC BY, except for a few journals publishing articles under a CC BY-NC licence.

Authors retain all rights relating to their articles, which may be deposited in the University of Bologna institutional repository (IRIS) and published on the authors’ personal websites. Open access is granted right after the publication without any embargo period.

When will the article be published Open Access?

The article will be published once the University of Bologna has verified the author’s affiliation with the University and has given its approval.

Which costs are excluded from the coverage of the agreement?

Any other publication fees (i.e.: submission fees, color pages, overlength pages fees etc.) are not covered by the agreement.

Where can I find more information about the agreement?