Open Research
Research funded by the Research Council of the Velocity Interoperability Network is paid for by the member organisations of the Velocity Interoperability Network in common, and its results belong to the Network in common. The requirements on this page state what a researcher holding a Council award must publish, deposit and retain, and by when. They apply to every award, including the 38 awards confirmed at establishment on 6 September 2026, and are repeated in the conditions of award.
The purpose of the requirements is practical rather than formal. A result that cannot be checked cannot be relied on by the departments that commission evidence from the Council; a dataset that is not documented is of no use to the researcher who comes after; and work that is repeated because an earlier negative result was never recorded is work paid for twice. The requirements are drawn to prevent all three.
Deposits are checked before payment from 1 January 2027
What must be made available. The six requirements below apply to every award. The data management plan submitted with a proposal must show how each will be met.
- Publications
- Every article, report, conference paper and thesis arising from a Council award must be deposited in the Network Research Repository in a form that may be read without charge or registration. Where a publisher requires an embargo, the deposit is made at acceptance and released when the embargo ends.
- Data
- The data on which a published result rests must be deposited with enough documentation for another researcher to understand what was measured, how and under what conditions. Where data cannot be released in full, a documented subset is deposited together with the terms on which the full data may be obtained.
- Code and models
- Software written to produce or analyse the results, including scripts, configuration and the parameters of any model, is deposited with the data. Code must carry a statement of the environment in which it was run and the version of any dependency required to run it.
- Protocols and materials
- The protocol actually followed, including departures from the protocol as planned, is deposited with the outputs. Physical materials produced under an award are held by the member organisation and supplied to other researchers at the cost of supply.
- Acknowledgement
- Every output must acknowledge the Council and quote the award reference. Outputs that do not carry the reference are not counted against the award in the annual report and may be treated as a failure to deposit.
- Negative and inconclusive results
- Results that do not support the hypothesis under test are deposited on the same terms as any other result. Where such results are not published elsewhere, a short record of the work and its outcome is deposited in the repository within twelve months of the work being completed.
- 10
- Years for which primary data and records must be retained
- 12
- Months: the longest embargo allowed without the Council's agreement
- 38
- Awards subject to these requirements from establishment
- 1 January 2027
- Date from which deposits are checked before each payment
When each output is due. The deadlines below run from acceptance, completion or the end of the award, whichever the table states. Deposit and release are distinct: an output may be deposited at acceptance and released later, but it may not be released without first being deposited.
| Output | Deposit by | Released | Responsible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article or conference paper | On acceptance for publication | At publication, or when any embargo ends | Principal investigator |
| Data supporting a publication | On acceptance of the publication | At publication | Principal investigator |
| Code used to produce results | On acceptance of the publication | At publication | Principal investigator |
| Protocol as followed | Within 3 months of the work being completed | On deposit | Principal investigator |
| Negative or inconclusive results | Within 12 months of the work being completed | On deposit | Principal investigator |
| Dataset not tied to a publication | Within 6 months of the end of the award | On deposit | Member organisation |
| Final report of the award | Within 3 months of the end date | Summarised in the register | Member organisation |
How to deposit an output. The steps below are carried out by the principal investigator and the member organisation together. The Awards Office does not deposit outputs on a researcher's behalf, but will advise on the form a deposit should take.
Step 1: Record the output against the award
The principal investigator notifies the Awards Office of the output, quoting the award reference, the type of output and the date it was accepted or completed.
Step 2: Prepare the deposit
Assemble the output itself, the documentation needed to understand it, and a statement of any condition that limits release. Files should be in formats that can be read without proprietary software.
Step 3: Deposit in the repository
The member organisation deposits the output in the Network Research Repository under the award reference. The repository assigns a persistent identifier, which is quoted in the publication and in the annual report.
Step 4: Record any embargo
Where release must be delayed, the reason and the date of release are recorded at the point of deposit. An embargo longer than twelve months requires the agreement of the Awards Office.
Step 5: Report the deposit
Deposits made during the year are listed in the annual report on the award. The Awards Office checks the list against the repository before the next payment is made.
Step 6: Retain the records
Primary data and records are retained by the member organisation for at least ten years from the end of the award, whether or not they were deposited, and must be capable of being produced to an investigation panel.
Embargoes and exceptions. The Council recognises that not every output can be released at once. An exception must be identified in the data management plan where it can be foreseen, and notified to the Awards Office as soon as it arises where it cannot. The grounds below are the only grounds on which release may be delayed or withheld.
| Ground | Limit | Agreed by |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher embargo on an article | Up to 12 months from publication | Awards Office, on notification |
| Personal data that cannot be anonymised | Indefinite, with a documented access procedure | Awards Office, with the data management plan |
| Data held in confidence for a member organisation | Up to 24 months, renewable once on reasons given | Council |
| Material whose release would prejudice the security of the Network | Determined case by case | Council, on advice |
Failure to deposit. A required deposit that is outstanding without an agreed embargo is a breach of the conditions of award and, where it is persistent, of the standard of transparency. The Awards Office writes to the principal investigator and the member organisation, allowing twenty working days for the deposit to be made. Where it is still not made, payment is held and the matter is referred to the Integrity Office.
Costs. The reasonable costs of preparing, documenting and depositing outputs may be included in the budget of a proposal under the heading of other costs. The Council does not meet charges levied by a publisher for making an article openly available where deposit in the repository achieves the same result.
Questions about a deposit, a proposed embargo or the form an output should take may be sent to contact@research.gov.vin, marked for the attention of the Awards Office. The related standards are set out on the Research Integrity page, the conditions of award on the Awards page, and the data management plan required with a proposal on the Applying for Funding page.