The Carlsberg Foundation has endorsed the Open Access policy for public sector research funds and foundations.

This means that research supported by the foundation must follow this policy: 

Requirements for the grant holder

The grant holder is, if the magazine allows it, requested to parallel publish a digital version of the final, peer-reviewed scientific article, which has been accepted by a scientific magazine. The article, which is a result of full or partial financing by the foundation, must be parallel published in an institutional or subject-specific repository, i.e. a digital archive.

The parallel publishing of the scientific article can - at the request of the magazine – take place after an embargo period, i.e. a period in which the article is only available in the scientific magazine, of up to six or twelve months after publication in the scientific magazine. The waiting periods for the specific research areas must be as follows:

• Natural science - six months
• Social science - 12 months
• The humanities - 12 months.

The final, peer-reviewed scientific article, which is subject to parallel publication, must include all graphic and other materials prepared for the article. Research data shall be exempted.

The grant holder is responsible for making sure that relevant publication or copyright agreements with publishers are in accordance with the conditions for grants laid down by the Carlsberg Foundation in connection with parallel publication. The foundation wants the grant holder to maintain copyright to the widest possible extent. Such conditions shall be observed according to current copyright rules.

Which types of publication are included?

The request for parallel publication only includes scientific articles and conference proceedings in journals and proceedings with an ISSN number. This means that the request for parallel publication does not include:

• Scientific monographs
• Anthologies
• PhD dissertations
• Doctorate dissertations
• Publications on patented discoveries.

What does this mean for the grant holder?

For the grant holder, this policy means:

• That the grant holder must, in connection with acceptance of an article for publication in a scientific magazine, try to maintain the rights to parallel publish an edition of the peer-reviewed and accepted scientific article.
• That the grant holder ensures in connection with publication - possibly after the waiting period - that the article is parallel published in an institutional or subject-specific repository.
• That in connection with reporting to the foundation the grant holder specifies whether scientific publications resulting from a project fully or partially financed by the foundation have been published in Open Access journals.

The Carlsberg Foundation has endorsed ‘The Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity’. This means that the research supported by the Foundation must comply with this Code.

The Code aims to ensure trustworthiness, integrity and thereby quality in Danish research through shared principles and standards for responsible research practice. The code is founded on four fundamental principles of research integrity: honesty, transparency, accountability, and respect, which should apply throughout all phases of research.

Responsible Conduct of Research

Responsible conduct of research requires that all parties involved in the research process adhere to high standards for conducting research. These standards cover a wide range of issues — from academic freedom to proper collection, management, and communication of data.

The Carlsberg Foundation actively supports this by endorsing the FAIR principles for data sharing and data access and by explicitly supporting the Danish Open Access policy.

Education, Training and Supervision in Principles of Responsible Research Practice

Education, training, and supervision are central to strengthening awareness of research integrity. Research leaders and supervisors have particularly important roles in teaching, training, and supervising in matters relating to research integrity and responsible research practice.

The Carlsberg Foundation actively supports this by considering documented research leadership as an assessment criterion in the evaluation of research funding applications, especially in relation to the Semper Ardens funding schemes. In addition, we offer a research leadership course to early-career grantees who may be preparing to lead their first research team.

Scientific Misconduct and Questionable Research Practices

The ‘Act on Research Misconduct etc.’ sets the framework for handling cases of scientific misconduct and instances of questionable research practice. The Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity provides supplementary recommendations on how to address questionable research practices.

As a result, the Carlsberg Foundation has a whistleblower scheme. However, the foundation considers the handling of scientific misconduct to be primarily the remit of the universities and institutions where the research is conducted.

All recipients of research grants from the Foundation must comply with international and national rules on animal welfare, such as Denmark’s regulation on animal experiments, the Danish Animal Experiment Inspectorate and the Consolidated Act on Animal Experiments. 

As a minimum, Danish regulations must also be complied with when experiments financed by the Carlsberg Foundation are conducted abroad.