Open access policies must require rather than just request deposit

"It makes a big difference whether a university's (or research funder's) Open Access policy is mandatory (i.e. a requirement) or just invitational (a request). Merely requesting deposit (as did the first version of the NIH OA policy) fails to generate deposits, whereas requiring deposit succeeds (as did the revised NIH policy, once it was upgraded to make deposit mandatory). Research grant recipients and their institutions are conscientious about complying with their funders' official grant fulfillment procedures, to maximize their chances of future funding. University faculty are likewise conscientious about complying with their institutions' official performance review procedures (and so depositing articles in the institutional repository should be designated as the official procedure for submitting them for performance review)."

(source: Open Access Archivangelism, 01/09/09)