Introducing open access options for Nature and the Nature research journals

Springer Nature has always been committed to open research to ensure research is freely accessible to everyone. Open access makes research immediately accessible and discoverable by anyone, allowing for greater public engagement as well as for researchers to build on existing research easily.

As of January 2021 we are delighted that for the first time in its 150 year history, Nature, along with the wider Nature research journals, will be offering immediate gold open access options for all primary research. This is made possible through the introduction of Transformative Journals (TJs). TJs are subscription or hybrid journals that are committed to transitioning to fully open access (OA). Through TJs authors now have the option when submitting, to choose between immediate gold OA (with an associated article processing charge) or the traditional publishing route, with the selection taking place once the article has been accepted. Both routes - traditional and OA - rely on the same strong editorial processes and follow the same stringent standards.

TJs are also enabling authors to meet the requirements of any research funder or institution, including those of Plan S funders. If you have received research funding from a Plan S funder, you may have requirements for immediate OA with a CC BY licence. In these cases you should select gold OA at the point of acceptance, which enables immediate OA to the final published version of record.

Moreover, from January 2021 Nature and the Nature research journals are part of the transformative agreement with Max Planck Digital Library, which covers fees for OA publishing for authors at participating institutions.

In addition, we’re really pleased to be trialling a new process to facilitate OA at three Nature research journals (Nature Physics, Nature Genetics, Nature Methods). Guided Open Access enables authors to publish their work in the most suitable journal under a single submission.

For more than 20 years, Springer Nature has been championing open research and open access to extend this offering across its portfolio. Introducing gold OA in Nature and the Nature research journals, is a further step towards our promise for a fully OA future; following in the footsteps of our other imprints such as BMC and making it possible for more authors to benefit from the increased reach and impact that publishing gold OA can achieve.