First signatories to the Open Access Publishing Framework Agreement: from left to right: Frederick Fenter, Executive Editor, Frontiers; Regina Hitzenberger, Vice Rector, University of Vienna; Klement Tockner, President, Austrian Science Fund (FWF); Ronald Buitenhuis, Head of Publishing Solutions, Frontiers

Under a landmark fully transparent Open Access Publishing Framework Agreement signed today between Frontiers, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the University of Vienna, Austrian researchers affiliated with or funded by these institutions can now publish their articles in Frontiers’ open access journals through a simplified process that covers article processing charges. In addition to a national discount and centralized invoicing process, the signatory institutions benefit from transparent, comprehensive reporting on expenditures and research outputs at an institutional and national level.

The Agreement — the first-of-its-kind national Open Access framework agreement with a leading Gold Open Access publisher — is open to any academic research and/or state funding institution based in Austria. All new signatories will benefit from the same terms and conditions, regardless of size or research output.

Regina Hitzenberger, Vice Rector at the University of Vienna, said, “We are proud to be a signatory to this cost-effective and innovative open-access publishing Agreement, which will extend and strengthen Open Science in Austria.”

Klement Tockner, President of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), emphasised, “The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is pleased to be one of the first signatories of the fully transparent Gold open access Agreement with Frontiers. Transparency of costs, conditions and services is a precondition to strengthen Open Science; hence, this agreement may serve as a role model in terms of openness for further agreements.”

Kamila Markram, Co-Founder and CEO of Frontiers, said, “A full transition to Open Science has the potential to accelerate scientific discovery to the benefit of humanity. We thank the Austrian Science Fund and the University of Vienna who, as initial signatories to this landmark Open Access Publishing Framework Agreement, are leading the way in this transition — and look forward to the participation of other Austrian institutions.”

Numerous Austrian institutions, including the University of Vienna and the Austrian Science Fund, have signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities and implemented open access policies. The Austrian Science Fund has also expressed support for the OA2020 initiative, which calls for innovative open access solutions “by converting resources currently spent on journal subscriptions into funds to support sustainable [open access] business models.” Frontiers has been an innovation leader in Open Science for over ten years and is aligned with the European Commission’s Open Science vision and policies as well as the Council of the EU’s commitment to support a transition to immediate Open Access as the default by 2020.

Researchers submitting an article under the Agreement will have access to Frontiers’ full suite of Open Science tools, including a collaborative peer-review platform and article and author impact metrics. All submitted articles will remain subject to Frontiers’ editorial processes, policies and conditions including peer-review, acceptance and rejection.

As of 20 December 2017, Frontiers has 59 institutional membership plans in place with university libraries, consortia and funders.