UKRI updated the frequently-asked-questions document attached to its open access policy on 22 June 2026, clarifying several compliance points and confirming a five-year (2026 to 2030) plan to strengthen how it monitors open access uptake across its funded outputs — including exploring a new “Open Access Monitor.” Neither change alters the underlying policy’s core requirements, but both are directly relevant to how research offices handle compliance evidence and reporting from 2026 onward.
What the 22 June 2026 FAQ update actually clarifies
UKRI’s open access policy FAQ (dated 22 June 2026 at the time of writing) adds or sharpens guidance on three points institutions had been asking about:
- Horizon Europe Guarantee awards must comply with UKRI’s open access policy. The FAQ states outputs from UKRI-funded Horizon Europe Guarantee awards “must acknowledge UKRI as the funder (as required by the grant’s terms and conditions), and consequently must comply with UKRI’s open access policy” — in addition to, not instead of, any European Commission open access terms attached to the underlying Horizon Europe grant agreement (see UKRI’s own Horizon Europe Article 39 open access obligations for the EC side of that dual requirement).
- Block grant eligibility and duration for transitional agreements. The update tightens language on how long UKRI open access block grant funding can be drawn against a given award and how eligibility applies where a publisher transitional (read-and-publish) agreement is in place.
- Block grant reporting is coming back. UKRI confirms it “will reintroduce block grant reporting in 2026 or 2027 through a co-developed, lightweight, standardised template” — specifically to close evidence gaps around what block grant funding is actually being spent on. Institutions that had stopped detailed block grant reporting under the current policy’s lighter-touch regime should expect a reporting obligation to return within this window, even though the exact template hasn’t been published yet.
The 2026–2030 implementation period and the Open Access Monitor
Separately from the FAQ update, UKRI’s implementation guidance sets out how it intends to support and monitor the policy between 2026 and 2030. The headline commitments:
- Systematic tracking, including an “Open Access Monitor.” UKRI says its monitoring and evaluation activity “will include developing more systematic tracking of open access progress and levels, exploring an ‘Open Access Monitor’, and undertaking independent economic analysis.” As of this writing, UKRI has not published a launch date, technical specification, or confirmed scope for the Open Access Monitor — “exploring” is UKRI’s own word, not a commitment to a shipped tool on a fixed date. Treat any specific launch-date claim you see elsewhere with caution until UKRI publishes one directly.
- Monitoring compliance at the institution level. UKRI states that “monitoring compliance of research organisations with the policy will form part of our monitoring and evaluation activity, which will use existing data sources where possible” — language that points toward reuse of data institutions already report elsewhere (e.g. via CRIS/repository metadata) rather than an entirely new reporting burden, though the specifics will depend on how the Open Access Monitor is eventually scoped.
- An external evidence base. UKRI commissioned Research Consulting to support development of its monitoring and evaluation activities; UKRI references the resulting report as part of the evidence behind this plan.
- Funding is stable through the near term. Per the last spending review, UKRI’s open access funding commitments cover financial years 2026–27 through 2029–30, with the overall funding level “expected to remain stable” for 2026–27 and 2027–28.
- Hybrid OA funding ends for good in 2028–29. UKRI is explicit that “in 2028 to 2029 we will no longer allow UKRI funds to be used for hybrid OA even when in a transitional agreement” — a firm compliance milestone research offices negotiating multi-year transitional agreements with publishers should build into contract renewal planning now, not treat as a distant contingency.
What this means for research offices and grant holders
Three practical implications follow directly from the primary-source text above, not from speculation about the still-unscoped Open Access Monitor itself:
- Horizon Europe Guarantee award holders have two open access regimes to satisfy, not one. Where UKRI is funding a Horizon Europe Guarantee award, compliance work now needs to check both the EC’s Horizon Europe open access terms and UKRI’s own policy — the FAQ update removes any ambiguity that UKRI’s policy applies here too.
- Rebuild block grant reporting capacity ahead of the 2026–27/2027–28 reintroduction. Institutions that scaled back detailed APC/block-grant expenditure tracking after UKRI’s prior reporting simplification should plan to reinstate it, even though the standardised template itself is still in co-development with the sector.
- Transitional (read-and-publish) agreements need a 2028–29 exit plan for hybrid content. Any multi-year publisher agreement signed now that assumes continued UKRI hybrid OA funding past 2028–29 is planning against a policy position UKRI has already stated it will not hold.
Background: what UKRI’s open access policy already requires
UKRI’s underlying open access policy predates this update by several years and hasn’t changed in substance. Per UKRI’s own policy page (version 1.8, November 2023): it applies to peer-reviewed research articles submitted for publication on or after 1 April 2022, and to monographs, book chapters, and edited collections published on or after 1 January 2024, with routes to compliance that include gold open access, green open access, and the rights-retention route, plus a dedicated fund for longform (monograph-length) publications. CASRAI’s Open Access Publishing guide covers the gold/green/diamond distinction in more general terms, and the Gold vs Green vs Diamond vs Hybrid OA comparison and APC guide cover the funding-mechanism side that this update’s block-grant-reporting change most directly affects.
UKRI is one of several major funders with its own distinct open access mandate and compliance-monitoring approach — see CASRAI’s Wellcome Trust Open Access Policy guide for a comparable UK funder’s requirements, and the UKRI vs. ERC funding comparison for how UKRI’s broader funding structure compares to its main European counterpart. Related CASRAI reference: the open access mandate dictionary entry, the R4RI mandate (UKRI 2024) entry for UKRI’s separate narrative-CV/responsible-assessment policy, and the UKRI Funding guide and UKRI Grants guide for how UKRI’s council structure and funding service fit around policies like this one.
What to watch next
Three things worth tracking as this rolls out: whether UKRI publishes a concrete specification or launch date for the Open Access Monitor (nothing concrete exists as of this writing beyond the word “exploring”); the content of the co-developed block grant reporting template due in 2026 or 2027; and whether the Research Consulting report UKRI references becomes publicly available in full. This page reflects UKRI’s own published guidance as of the FAQ’s 22 June 2026 update — always check UKRI’s policy and FAQ pages directly for the current version before treating any date or figure here as still current, particularly given how much of this plan (the Monitor especially) is explicitly still at the exploratory stage.
