eLife is pleased to offer open access agreements for research institutions in support of a more equitable and sustainable system for scientific publishing.
A photograph of people studying in a large library. Photo by Dominic Kurniawan Suryaputra on Unsplash.
Under one of these agreements, known as an uncapped scheme, corresponding authors affiliated with a partner organisation can publish an unlimited number of articles in eLife during a two-year term, with their organisation agreeing to cover a preset fee for that period.
Uncapped schemes are a step towards a more equitable and sustainable publishing landscape, and typically help institutions support their researchers in publishing open access. For eLife in particular, they enable partner organisations to unlock opportunities for their researchers to try a new way of publishing through the eLife Model.
eLife’s first adopter of the agreement is the MIT Libraries, which runs until the end of April 2027 and applies to research submitted and sent for peer review through the eLife Model. Launched in 2023, the publish–review–curate (PRC) approach used by eLife combines the speed and openness of preprints with the scrutiny offered by peer review. Once an article has been selected for peer review, the authors can be sure that it will be published in eLife as a Reviewed Preprint. This is a new type of scientific publication that includes the article, feedback from the reviewers, and an eLife Assessment that summarises the significance of the findings being reported and the strength of the evidence. This approach emphasises the scientific content of individual articles rather than journal name.
Adding to these benefits, eLife’s uncapped scheme makes the system more equitable by moving away from a publication fee per published article and allowing unlimited publications for eligible authors, regardless of their ability to pay. It also speeds up the process for authors, as they can simply select their institute during submission and thereby bypass the payment process, and for participating organisations as it simplifies the payment logistics.
In addition to the uncapped scheme, eLife has developed a centralised scheme to help transition away from traditional author fees for publication.
“We’ve garnered strong support from the research community for our efforts to reform science publishing and assessment,” says Fiona Hutton, eLife Head of Publishing. “With our uncapped and centralised schemes, we hope to partner with other like-minded organisations that support alternative approaches to publishing so we can move towards a better system for all, together.”
To find out more about the eLife Model for publishing, see ‘Peer review and publishing at eLife’.
To read more about how research organisations view the eLife Model and research assessment, see ‘Research organisations still consider eLife papers in funding and hiring decisions’.
Media contacts
Emily Packer
eLife
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About
eLife transforms research communication to create a future where a diverse, global community of scientists and researchers produces open and trusted results for the benefit of all. Independent, not-for-profit and supported by funders, we improve the way science is practised and shared. From the research we publish, to the tools we build, to the people we work with, we’ve earned a reputation for quality, integrity and the flexibility to bring about real change. eLife is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Max Planck Society and Wellcome. Learn more at https://elifesciences.org/about.
