Open access agreements

A recognised stepping stone to open access

Open access (OA) is shaping the future of scholarly publishing, and we are doing all we can to build an open future that works for everyone.

This includes developing services that will help you – whether you’re the one publishing, the one reading, or the one managing the entire process – to make important research more easily available. Read more about open access publishing and research.

Let us introduce you to our open access agreements.

What are open access agreements?

Open access agreements offer an alternative to traditional subscription models. They are arranged between us and an institution and offer authors a simple and cost-effective route to open access publishing. Agreements differ depending on the terms set out between the parties. However, as standard, all agreements include unlimited reading of every article published in our journal portfolio.

The benefits of open access agreements

For authors

Mandate-friendly

The scheme will support you as you work to meet funding requirements and make open access your default publishing choice

Profile-raising

Overall, articles published open access in our journals are downloaded more often, raising the visibility of your work, and of you as an author

Easy to use

During the publishing process, the system will identify you as being from an institution with an open access agreement and show you available options

For institutions

Tailored & transparent

Your open access agreement will be built around your publishing output and priced accordingly

Transformative

The open access landscape is changing fast. Our model has the potential to support a global transition which prioritises the needs of the scientific community

Simple to manage

If you are responsible for managing your agreement, you will receive monthly usage reports and activity notifications

Guidelines for authors

• Our journal finder lets you know which journals your open access agreement covers. Enter your institution and discover your publishing options
• To be eligible, you must be listed as the corresponding author on our online submission system and in your manuscript. Our system will automatically identify your institution from your official institutional email address if an open access agreement is in place
• Extras cost more. Fees for things like reprints or cover artwork count as extra charges, so make sure to factor this in

When you are ready to publish

Our submission process remains simple:

1. Find out if your institution has signed an open access agreement, and if it covers the journal you would like to publish in, using our journal finder
2. Send us your manuscript via our submission system, making sure you use your official institutional email address as the corresponding author. Our systems will automatically identify if you are covered by an agreement and apply the discount
3. If your article is accepted, our system will then clearly signpost the rest of the process to you, including your licence options

As always, our editorial teams are here to answer any of your questions. You can also read our article licence guide, visit the author hub for general publishing guidance, or explore the open access hub for more information.

Open access community

We have agreements with ~1,400 institutions from 41 countries. Find out which institutions have recently joined or are already part of our open access community.

You can also read news and further information relating to our open access agreement scheme.