Our open access transition enters the 70’s era

As the national academy of science for the UK, the Royal Society supports open access and open science to maximise the dissemination and re-use of research outputs.

Looking back on the Royal Society journals’ progress over 2024, I am pleased to report that we have increased our open access output from 66% in 2023 to 71% across the research journals. Whilst the publishing landscape continues to change, and in many aspects consolidate, we continue to perform well in our commitment to transition to full open access.

The increase in open access output can be attributed in part to the increase in Transformative Agreements that provide free access to journal content and free open access publishing to authors at signed up institutions. We had over 400 institutions signed up to Read & Publish in 2024, as well as having over 100 low and middle income countries covered by our Royal Society Open Access Equity scheme. 

However, we must recognise that not all markets are moving at the same rate, and there is still interest in covering the cost of open access publishing via article processing charges.

Are the journals really transforming?

In 2021, the Royal Society committed to transitioning to open access and submitted four journals to Plan S’s Transformative Journals programme, and journal data to the Journal Comparison Service. Over the three years of the programme, that concluded at the end of 2024, our four journals, Proceedings A, Proceedings B, Interface and Biology Letters, increased their open access output.

Looking at the open access output across the 10 journals, there is an accelerated increase from 2020 onwards.

Is the open access benefit real?

We see there is a clear benefit to researchers by publishing their research as open access. Authors who choose open access publication are likely to benefit from increased dissemination and citation. Data from articles published in our Transformative Journals in 2022 shows that open access papers received on average 100% more citations and 116% more downloads than subscription articles. Of all articles published in 2022, 99 of the top 100 articles by Altmetric score were open access. Data recorded January 2024. 

Outlook for the year ahead

We will continue to increase the number of Transformative Agreements we have and break new ground with new members from new markets. 2025 Marks the 360^th anniversary of publishing for the Royal Society, and provides the opportunity to take stock of our open access transition to date and to consider what we need to do to continue to move forward.

Using our ability to convene groups of individuals in key roles and with relevant expertise, the Royal Society is currently conducting a review of the future of STEM publishing, which will culminate in an event in the summer of 2025, and a policy document with the key findings and recommendations. The findings will inform our work and discussions with the wider sector on the future of STEM publishing in the UK and globally.