Overview
Where MRC stands on contributorship and open research
Inherits UKRI publishing-best-practice guidance. MRC team-science programme calls explicitly reference CRediT in their FAQs for multi-PI projects, but the formal policy stance remains the UKRI umbrella position - encouraging contributorship statements rather than mandating CRediT.
CRediT status: Encouraged - Guidance or programme calls reference CRediT, but formal policy text is silent.
Open access
Inherits UKRI Open Access Policy (2022)
All MRC-funded peer-reviewed articles must be immediately open access under CC BY at the time of publication, deposited in Europe PMC or an institutional repository. The pre-2022 MRC-specific OA policy that preceded the UKRI harmonisation is now retired.
Research data management
Data sharing requirements
MRC Policy on Research Data Sharing (longstanding); aligned with UKRI Common Principles.
Submission and reporting
How MRC researchers apply and report
| Primary submission system | The Funding Service (UKRI-wide, transitioning from Je-S) |
| Biosketch / CV format | R4RI for fellowships; council-specific researcher CV for project grants |
| Reporting cycle | Researchfish annual return + UKRI council-specific outcomes |
MRC follows the UKRI umbrella requirements: R4RI narrative CV for fellowships, immediate CC BY OA for funded peer-reviewed articles, ORCID iDs at proposal stage. MRC additionally maintains its long-standing data-sharing policy (one of the earliest of any UK funder, dating from 2006) requiring a data-sharing plan at application and reporting on data outputs through Researchfish. For clinical trials, MRC requires prospective registration on a WHO-recognised registry.
Contributorship guidance
How MRC handles contributor attribution
MRC defers to journal practice on contributorship for publications. The council's team-science and large-consortium calls (such as MRC Programme Grants and Centre awards) reference CRediT in their guidance for multi-PI authorship attribution.
For authors
Publishing from MRC funding
When publishing from MRC funding, follow the UKRI immediate CC BY open-access rules and use the MRC funding-acknowledgement format that names the council and the specific grant reference (e.g., "This work was supported by the Medical Research Council, grant number MR/..."). Submit a CRediT statement at the publisher's request. For data-generating studies, ensure the data-sharing plan submitted with the application is honoured in practice - deposit data in an MRC-recognised repository and link the dataset DOI in the publication. For clinical trials, the trial registration number must appear in both the manuscript and any registry record updates.
For general CRediT submission guidance across publishers, see CRediT for authors.
Notable initiatives
MRC programmes and infrastructure
- UK Biobank co-funding
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
- MRC Cancer Unit
- MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL
Notes
Caveats and context
MRC retains a council-specific identity within UKRI but its publishing-policy levers (OA, CRediT, ORCID) are now fully aligned with the UKRI umbrella. The data-sharing policy retains MRC-specific nuance.
Frequently asked
Common questions about MRC
- Does MRC require CRediT?
- MRC does not require CRediT at the policy-text level, but guidance and programme materials reference it. Inherits UKRI publishing-best-practice guidance. MRC team-science programme calls explicitly reference CRediT in their FAQs for multi-PI projects, but the formal policy stance remains the UKRI umbrella position - encouraging contributorship statements rather than mandating CRediT.
- What is MRC's open access policy?
- Inherits UKRI Open Access Policy (2022). All MRC-funded peer-reviewed articles must be immediately open access under CC BY at the time of publication, deposited in Europe PMC or an institutional repository. The pre-2022 MRC-specific OA policy that preceded the UKRI harmonisation is now retired.
- How do I report contributorship to MRC?
- MRC defers to journal practice on contributorship for publications. The council's team-science and large-consortium calls (such as MRC Programme Grants and Centre awards) reference CRediT in their guidance for multi-PI authorship attribution.
- Where do I submit a MRC application?
- MRC applications are submitted through The Funding Service (UKRI-wide, transitioning from Je-S). MRC follows the UKRI umbrella requirements: R4RI narrative CV for fellowships, immediate CC BY OA for funded peer-reviewed articles, ORCID iDs at proposal stage. MRC additionally maintains its long-standing data-sharing policy (one of the earliest of any UK funder, dating from 2006) requiring a data-sharing plan at application and reporting on data outputs through Researchfish. For clinical trials, MRC requires prospective registration on a WHO-recognised registry.
- What is MRC's data sharing requirement?
- MRC Policy on Research Data Sharing (longstanding); aligned with UKRI Common Principles. Researchers should follow the data-management plan submitted with the application and deposit data in a recognised repository where appropriate.
References
Sources
- MRC Policy on Research Data Sharing
- UKRI Open Access Policy (2022)
- MRC Good Research Practice
