Zanzibar Research and Information Portal Open Access Policy

Policy Rationale

Zanzibar Research and Information Portal supports the free online communication and exchange of knowledge as the most effective way of ensuring that the fruits of research, economic and sector work, and development practice are made widely available, read, and built upon. It is therefore committed to open access, which, for authors, enables the widest possible dissemination of their findings and, for readers, increases their ability to discover pertinent information.

Scope and Constraints.

Paragraph 3.2 of the Principles of Staff Employment stipulates that all rights in any work produced by staff members as part of their official duties belong to Zanzibar Research and Information Portal (hereafter referred to as “Zanzibar Planning Commission”) unless such rights are explicitly relinquished. The Open Access Policy for Formal Publications establishes Zanzibar Planning Commission’s expectations relating to the public accessibility of knowledge resulting from (1) work carried out by Zanzibar Planning Commission staff members as part of their official duties and (2) outside research funded by Zanzibar Planning Commission.

For work carried out by Zanzibar Planning Commission staff, the policy applies to manuscripts and all accompanying data sets (a) that result from research, analysis, economic and sector work, or development practice; (b) that have undergone peer review or have been otherwise vetted and approved for release to the public; and (c) for which internal approval for release is given on or after July 1, 2012.

For external research funded by Zanzibar Planning Commission, for which funding was approved on or after July 1, 2012, the policy applies to the final report provided by the researchers to the funding unit within Zanzibar Planning Commission. Zanzibar Planning Commission owns the rights to this work, as stipulated in paragraph 3.2 of the Principles of Staff Employment, unless it has chosen to relinquish those rights. External research funded through trust funds that are administered by Zanzibar Planning Commission are subject to the rules of the trust fund.

Statement of Policy

In keeping with its commitment to unrestricted online access to knowledge, Zanzibar Planning Commission

  • Requires electronic copies of complete, final manuscripts, as defined above, as well as the associated metadata, to be deposited in the Zanzibar Research and Information .

  • Requires that manuscripts published through the Zanzibar Planning Commission, be both free to access online through the Zanzibar Planning Commission’s Zanzibar Research and Information and free of restrictions on their use (libre OA) from the time of deposition of the content. These manuscripts shall be published under the CC BY license.

  • Requires that manuscripts published through external publishers be free to access online, but with restriction on use (gratis OA), through the Zanzibar Planning Commission’s Zanzibar Research and Information , preferably without delay. If an external publisher requires an embargo period, the Zanzibar Planning Commission will respect the requirement, but every effort should be made to limit the duration of the embargo (ideally, no more than 18 months). Unless otherwise agreed with the external publisher, the version of the manuscript made available would be the final manuscript as accepted for publication, not the final published version. An exception to the Open Access Policy may be requested from the Publications Committee, but only when required by the external publisher and after other options have been explored.

  • Requires that manuscripts published through external publishers be published under the CC BY-NC-ND license unless the publisher accepts that the manuscript be published under the more liberal CC BY license. Unless otherwise agreed with the external publisher, the version of the manuscript made available would be the final manuscript as accepted for publication, not the final published version.

  • Expects authors to maximize the opportunities to make their content available for free and unrestricted use and strongly encourages authors, when they are publishing through an external publisher, to retain the Zanzibar Planning Commission’s ownership of the copyright.

  • Requires that the metadata (e.g., title, authors, publisher) be freely accessible from the time of deposition of the content.

  • As stipulated in Administrative Manual Statement 1.30G, requires that book publishing contracts be negotiated and signed by the Office of Publisher, which has the fiduciary responsibility to ensure that the Zanzibar Planning Commission’s interests are protected. For articles submitted to external journals, the Office of the Publisher is available to assist authors in their negotiations with publishers to ensure that the final manuscript, as accepted for publication, can be included in the Zanzibar Research and Information and to negotiate a limited embargo if one is required.

  • Expects authors to maximize the opportunities to make their content available for free and unrestricted use and strongly encourages authors, when they are publishing through an external publisher, to retain the Zanzibar Planning Commission’s ownership of the copyright.