New APC model, more inclusive APC discount options, and institutional agreements at ResearchGate

19 December 2024

As we near the end of 2024, Copernicus Publications would like to share some exciting developments we have been working on for a long time.

Open-access publishing has, to some extent, become a complex endeavour, navigating publisher business models, funder and institutional mandates, ethical considerations, and not least personal beliefs regarding how and where scholarly communication should take place. It is our strong belief that financial considerations should play a minor if any role in choosing a journal for publication, yet we are fully aware that article processing charges (APCs) pose a very real barrier for many scholarly communities.

While Copernicus Publications has always championed an inclusive waiver policy beyond the geographic origins of authors, we feel that, additionally, a more proactive approach is necessary. At the same time, we wish to bolster our long-standing relationships with libraries all over the world, offering our partners better information exchange and reduced complexity. Therefore, we would like to announce the following changes taking effect on 1 January 2025:

  • In total, 21 titles will finalize their transition from per-page APCs to flat article-based APCs.
  • With this transition, all 21 titles will adapt a new policy of fully automated, 100% waivers for corresponding authors of all institutions based in Research4Life (R4L)-eligible countries.
  • Twenty titles will support a fully automated 50% waiver for corresponding authors from institutions in all countries listed as European economically disadvantaged (EED) countries.
  • Our list of library partners for centralized APC settlement grew to 38 in 2024, representing 350 universities and research centres in Europe and North America. We will continue our efforts to extend such partnerships globally.
  • To promote these changes, Copernicus Publications has partnered with the ResearchGate network. Reading our articles on ResearchGate, authors associated with our library partners as well as nearly 300 R4L-eligible institutions will see automated notifications that their APCs are fully and automatically covered when publishing with us. They can also access critical journal information directly on ResearchGate.
  • For all titles adapting article-based APCs, we are now able to offer institutional partners a 10% discount on the list price when signing APC agreements with us.

Why change from per-page to per-article APCs?
Our overall commitment to transparency in scholarly communication has long since been reflected in the way we calculate and communicate APCs, namely by charging based on to the number of published pages. We believe that this remains a fair approach as our charges are directly proportional to services delivered.

While we stand by this approach, it does not come without drawbacks. By definition, the final APC cannot be determined before review and production are complete. At the time of submission, the APCs are unclear to authors, institutions, and Copernicus Publications. This may bear risks for authors and their budget planning and deter them from participating in our processes.

Signing APC agreements with institutions and libraries is a cornerstone of our efforts to streamline the publication process for authors. The page-based model made it complicated to determine budgets and give institutions a basis on which to plan. The new model simplifies budgeting significantly and enables us to offer partners additional incentives.

To accommodate the fact that some manuscript types require significantly fewer pages than regular, full-length articles, the per-article APCs are reduced accordingly.

Following Copernicus' commitment to the independence of the learned societies that own our journals, each society may decide whether this model fits their community needs.

About Copernicus Publications

Copernicus Publications is a fully open-access, not-for-profit society publisher whose portfolio of journals covers geosciences, environmental sciences, engineering, and life sciences. We have been at the forefront of the open-science transformation for 3 decades. We put research integrity first in everything we do, featuring the first public and fully transparent peer-review processes for academic journals and fair article processing charges. Find out more at https://www.copernicus.org

Contact me

Dr. Johannes Wagner
Business Development Publications
johannes.wagner@copernicus.org
Phone +49 551 90 03 39 19