New Open Access Agreement Between Dutch Research Institutions and PLOS

Over thirty Dutch research institutions have entered into a new open access agreement with the publisher PLOS (Public Library of Science). The deal covers seven scientific journals, including PLOS ONE, and allows researchers affiliated with the participating organizations to publish open access in these journals over the next two years as part of a national consortium agreement.

Diverse Range of Partners Involved

What sets this agreement apart is the wide range of institutions involved. Alongside nine universities, four university medical centers, three universities of applied sciences, and one NWO institute, seventeen top clinical hospitals are taking part for the first time. Naturalis Biodiversity Center, the Netherlands Cancer Institute (Antoni van Leeuwenhoek), and the Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL) are also part of the consortium. Additionally, research funders NWO and ZonMW are joining a national open access agreement for the first time.

First Outcome of Joint Pilot Project

This agreement is the result of a pilot initiative by the University Libraries & Royal Library (UKB) and SURF, with financial support from Universities of the Netherlands (UNL). The project's goal is to expand the consortium and strengthen collaboration between research institutions and funders in order to gain more control over the cost and terms of open access publishing. PLOS was selected as the first partner due to the broad relevance of its journal portfolio and its strong commitment to open science as a non-profit publisher.

Funding and Cost Arrangements

The cost of the two-year agreement is based on each institution’s publication patterns over the past three years. Individual institutions decide how to organize the internal funding. Researchers are advised to check with their home institutions to understand the specific arrangements in place.

For publications resulting from NWO- or ZonMW-funded projects, the open access fees will be covered entirely by these organizations. This means authors will no longer need to handle or reimburse publishing fees themselves when publishing open access with PLOS.

The agreement took effect on January 1, 2025, and runs for two years. Full details of the deal and participating institutions can be found at the PLOS publisher deal page.