Public Access Policies: Foundations, Charities and Organizations

The Ford Foundation supports visionary leaders and organizations on the frontlines of social change worldwide.We work mainly by making grants or loans that build knowledge and strengthen organizations and networks.

Beginning February 1, 2015 project grants from the foundation will include a requirement that the grantee widely disseminate all copyrightable products funded by the grant—including white papers, research reports, and websites—and license them under the CC BY 4.0 license. In certain situations, such as when the expected product contains sensitive or confidential material, the Creative Commons license will not be a requirement. Additionally, the change will apply to all materials not subject to third-party ownership on the Ford Foundation’s website.

Ford Foundation Expands Creative Commons Licensing for All Grant-Funded Projects

Effective February 1, 2015 grantees and consultants will be required to make foundation-funded materials subject to a Creative Commons license allowing others, free of charge and without requesting permission, the ability to copy, redistribute, and adapt existing materials, provided they give appropriate credit to the original author.

In certain situations, such as when the expected product contains sensitive or confidential material, the Creative Commons license will not be a requirement. Additionally, the change will apply to all materials not subject to third-party ownership on the Ford Foundation’s website.

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