2023 Open Access Report
Building a more open, inclusive, and reproducible research system
Our 2023 report shows us continuing to influence the transition to open access (OA)
Authors publishing OA with Springer Nature continue to benefit from the highest usage
Our Transformative Agreements (TAs) enabled 7x more gold OA articles than via author choice1, powering the global transition
1 In Springer hybrid titles
44% of our primary research is now published OA in our hybrid and fully OA journals. 183k+ OA articles published in 2023
Downloads of our OA book chapters and journal articles increased by over 20% between 2022-2023. 918 OA books were published in 2023
Harsh Jegadeesan
Chief Publishing Officer
“2023 saw Springer Nature continue to advance the development of a more open research environment.
TAs continue to be a powerful tool supporting the global transition to open access. Agreements now cover new markets from the US to Mexico, Japan to Southern Africa, and across all agreements enabled 7x more gold OA articles to be published in 2023 over authors choosing to publish OA while not being part of a TA.
Usage of our OA content continued to increase last year, demonstrating the value for authors, researchers and librarians. Interestingly we continue to see marked increase for humanities and social science researchers where the route to OA publishing has traditionally been more challenging.
Investment in technology to support the OA transition was a central focus of 2023, making the process smoother for authors and institutions. Notably this was addressed last year through the introduction of a new publishing platform integrating such things as enhanced integrity checks and integrated tools and features to support early open sharing as part of one system, speeding up OA and wider publication timelines.
Yet despite continued progress and investments, there is still much to do. Equity in OA publishing is not where it should be. Greater steps need to be taken by publishers and the sector as a whole to ensure not only equal access but equal representation in research. This remains a key commitment of ours, and a central focus of this year’s report as we seek to further the discussion on how to ensure that the opportunities and benefits OA affords are available to all.”
Enabling OA is part of our DNA, and has been for 20+ years
1.4m+ primary research and review articles published via gold OA to date
53% of journal articles relating to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) were published OA in 20232
2 53% of SDG-related content was published open access in 2023, compared with 44% of all primary research publishing by Springer Nature
3,130 OA books published since the launch of our OA Book Programme in 20123
3 As of end of 2023
Publisher of the world’s most cited multidisciplinary open science journal
We have a proud and longstanding heritage in publishing OA, with our journals and imprints playing a key role in developing industry standards and policies for OA and research.
2000
BioMed Central (BMC) launched as the first commercial OA publisher. Its sustainable approach has influenced industry standards since.
2004
Springer launched 'Open Choice' - the first publisher to offer an OA option on its subscription journals - demonstrating its early leadership in promoting OA.
2005
Nature Research launched its first fully OA journal.
2010
SpringerOpen fully OA portfolio launched.
2011
Scientific Reports launched, which is now the world's largest OA journal.
First OA book published.
2014
Nature Communications became fully OA.
Springer Compact agreements paved the way for the TAs of today, which enable authors to publish gold OA articles at no additional cost.
2015
First transformative read and publish deal begins.
2019
Introduced new approach to OA publishing, aimed to shift publisher view of their role in transition.
2020
Signed world's largest OA agreement.
2021
Springer Nature was the first publisher to reach the milestone of publishing one million gold OA articles.
Springer Nature provided authors with the ability to publish OA in Nature, showing how OA could be achieved for highly selective titles.
2022
2,000th OA book published.
Innovative OA medical journal, Cureus, becomes part of Springer Nature.
Integration with Code Ocean to support authors with simplified code sharing.
2023
Roll-out of Snapp, Springer Nature's in-house developed peer review system to support growth in OA publishing.
EMBO Press suite of journals selects Springer Nature as its publisher of choice for OA transition.
Acquisition of protocols.io to better support open research practice.
Open Access at Springer Nature
Ensuring equitable OA
We work to eliminate barriers to creating, discovering and using knowledge
Spotlight on TAs
Springer Nature TAs powered 7x more gold OA articles than via authors choosing to publish OA in 2023, while not being part of a TA
Investing in technology to advance OA
We are committed to investing in technology to provide a streamlined, valuable experience, enabling researchers to advance discovery
Spotlight on integrity
To accelerate the next phase of the transition to OA, we’re investing strongly in technology and AI, with a particular focus on protecting the integrity and trust of research.
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