A decade of deposits
Celebrating ten years of Manchester鈥檚 Open Access Gateway
The is a vital piece of infrastructure underpinning the mediated deposit service that the Office for Open Research provides to University of Manchester researchers.
It鈥檚 essentially a very simple form that researchers can use to tell us information about their outputs. We then go and create a Pure record on their behalf, and ensure compliance with important Open Access policies, including those of funders like UKRI and Wellcome, and for the national research review exercise, the REF.
Facilitating Open Access for over ten years
The Open Access Gateway went live all the way back in March 2016 as part of the Library鈥檚 support package for the HEFCE Open Access policy, the first national UK mandate for Open Access. This means we鈥檙e celebrating A Decade of Deposits!
Over the last ten years we reckon we鈥檝e processed over 22,000 Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) from over 5,000 individual users. That鈥檚 equivalent to the seated capacity of the Royal Albert Hall (!) - a testament to the dedication of our expert Open Access service team who review and process all manuscripts deposited via the Gateway. 97.8% of journal articles and conference proceedings submitted to REF 2021 met Open Access requirements, and the OA Gateway鈥檚 streamlined deposit process played a key role in supporting that success.
Our aim has always been to keep the form as simple as possible, as we appreciate how busy 91直播 researchers are. As a result, the Gateway hasn鈥檛 changed very much over the years. We still just ask for:
- A copy of the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM);
- The type of output being deposited;
- The name of the journal;
- The acceptance date.
That鈥檚 all we need! The Gateway does now also allow researchers to apply for Open Access funding and opt-in for referral to the University鈥檚 Media Relations team, but you can skip those if you鈥檙e really in a rush.
Expansion to the Open Research Tracker
The Open Access Gateway was the first element of the , the platform we鈥檝e subsequently developed to provide more holistic support to researchers and research leads to understand and manage their own and departmental Open Research activities. Researchers can to check the compliance status of their own publications, and Departmental leaders and administrators can Tracker access to view data from their department or subject area to support REF and funder reporting.
In 2025 we launched the Research Indicators Gateway, which enables researchers to request a range of reports provided via our These offer a variety of options for requesting analyses to better understand the reach and impact of research outputs. To request a report, please visit the
Development work is also underway to expand the Tracker to include information, and we鈥檙e exploring the potential of the Tracker to support our 91直播 Open Research Environment (MORE).
Here鈥檚 to another decade of deposits!
More information
- Check out the : deposit your Author Accepted Manuscript, apply for Open Access funding, or request referral to the University鈥檚 Media Relations team.
- Explore the : find out how the Tracker supports researchers and research leads to understand and manage Open Research activity.
- Find out more about the and our support offer.
Steve Carlton, Open Research Librarian: Open Access