(9 Jan 2023) From today, primary research from authors from over 70 countries classified by the World Bank as low-income (LIC) or lower-middle-income economies (LMICs) accepted for publication in either Nature or one of the Nature research journals (e.g. Nature Chemistry, Nature Sustainability) can now be published Gold open access at no cost. This move recognizes that local funding is rarely available for publishing OA in specialist journals like Nature, whose characteristics such as in-house editorial teams and low acceptance rates make it difficult for authors from these countries who are less well-funded.
A key part of this initiative is that authors will not need to ask to benefit from the support. Corresponding authors from qualifying countries whose primary research papers are accepted in principle (AIP) for publication in these titles will be informed as part of the publishing process that their paper will be published gold OA, with the APC covered by Springer Nature. Authors can opt out if they do not wish their papers to be published OA.
The World Bank lists the following countries as low-income (LIC) or lower-middle-income economies (LMICs): Afghanistan; Algeria; Angola; Bangladesh; Benin; Bhutan; Bolivia; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo, Dem. Rep.; Congo, Rep.; Côte d’Ivoire; Djibouti; Egypt, Arab Rep.; El Salvador; Eritrea; Eswatini; Ethiopia; Gambia, The; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Haiti; Honduras; India; Indonesia; Kenya; Kiribati; Kyrgyz Republic; Lao PDR; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Micronesia, Fed. Sts.; Mongolia; Morocco; Mozambique; Nepal; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Rwanda; Samoa; São Tomé and Príncipe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Sudan; Sri Lanka; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tunisia; Uganda; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Vietnam; West Bank and Gaza; Yemen, Rep.; Zambia; Zimbabwe
The press release is here.
