Authors from low-income and lower-middle income countries to be able to publish for free in Nature and the Nature research journals
From today, primary research from authors from over 70 countries classified by the World Bank as low-income (LIC) or lower-middle-income economies (LMICs) accepted for publication in either Nature or one of the Nature research journals (e.g. Nature Chemistry, Nature Sustainability) can now be published Gold open access at no cost. This move recognises that local funding is rarely available for publishing OA in specialist journals like Nature, whose characteristics such as in-house editorial teams and low acceptance rates make it difficult for authors from these countries who are less well-funded.
A key part of this initiative is that authors will not need to ask to benefit from the support. Corresponding authors from qualifying countries whose primary research papers are accepted in principle (AIP) for publication in these titles will be informed as part of the publishing process that their paper will be published gold OA, with the APC covered by Springer Nature. Authors can opt out if they do not wish their papers to be published OA.
Magdalena Skipper, editor in chief of Nature, said:
“At the very core of our mission at Nature is our desire to publish the most significant advances in any branch of research. Open Access makes research available to the widest possible audience fostering open science and collaboration. I am excited that with this move we are taking another step towards making research publishing more equitable and scientific knowledge more accessible globally.”
Deborah Sweet, Vice President for the Nature Journals, added:
“I am delighted that at Nature and the Nature Research Journals we are now able to offer Open Access to researchers from the low and lower middle income countries at no cost to them. As part of Springer Nature, we are committed to supporting the transition to OA and a part of this is to ensure that authors from less well-funded countries who wish to publish OA are able to do so.”
