Open access agreements

Information for authors

Publishing your article open access (OA) can bring you several benefits, including increased downloads and citations - and make your research more accessible to readers globally.

To help you take advantage of these benefits, many institutions cover researchers’ OA publishing costs (known as article processing charges, or APCs) as part of OA agreements with Springer Nature.

Paying for OA APCs through your institution

Publishing your article through an OA agreement is the easiest route to OA for eligible authors

Financial support for article processing charges (APCs)

Many institutions offer financial support for researchers to pay article processing charges (APC). One way is through open access agreements with publishers -  either on their own or through a consortium agreement across many institutions. 

Your institution’s OA agreement with Springer Nature may provide: 

  • Full APC coverage - 100% of the APC is paid by the institution 
  • A percentage discount eg. 20% off the list price APC
  • Fixed price coverage eg. up to 1000 EUR paid by the institution. 

Different OA agreements include different journals

Institutions take different approaches to how they support their researchers publishing in different journals. Your institution’s agreement with Springer Nature may include journals from across Springer, Nature, BMC, Palgrave, and/or Adis. 

Seamlessly integrated in the publishing workflow

Getting your APC paid via an OA agreement is seamlessly integrated into the Springer Nature publishing workflows and led by you, the corresponding author. Your article will be identified as part of an agreement based on details submitted.  After your article has been accepted for publication, you will be notified of your coverage options and prompted to confirm your OA licensing on behalf of all co-authors. Explore the steps in detail.

Open Access agreements by region:

Find out more about the terms of your agreement on the agreement webpages or by contacting your library or research office.