The first National Open Access Framework in Italy for Biomedical Institutions has today been signed by the Italian consortium of Biomedical Research Libraries - Bibliosan - and the leading open access publisher, Frontiers.
The agreement is fully aligned with international open access mandates, including Europe's Plan S. The new framework agreement applies to 51 Scientific Institutions for Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare (IRCCS), ten Experimental Zooprophylactic Institutions (IZS) and five National Institutions, including the National Institute of Health (ISS), the Italian Medicine Agency (AIFA) and the Italian Ministry of Health. The agreement includes a discount on article processing charges (APCs), centralized, flexible invoicing, payment options, and dedicated support for library staff dealing with APCs. Its aim is to transform scholarly publishing, enabling a new era of open access for Italian biomedical research.
The Frontiers - Bibliosan Open Access Framework Agreement highlights the commitment of Italy's research community to make research universally and freely accessible. The agreement will initially run for three years from January 2021.
Bibliosan's first Open Access agreement with a pure OA publisher, Frontiers, is a major step towards making the results of publicly-funded research in Italy openly available by making it easier for biomedical researchers in Italy to publish their research in Frontiers' fully open journals."
Dr. Moreno Curti, Bibliosan Coordinator
Kamila Markram, CEO and co-founder of Frontiers, said: "The framework demonstrates the strength of Bibliosan's commitment to open access and making publicly funded research openly available. All people, regardless of who or where they are, will now have access to some of the world's leading biomedical research. Italy joins other consortia, including Austria, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Qatar and the UK, all of whom have committed to open-access framework agreements with Frontiers."
The framework agreement is effective from 1 January 2021 and runs until December 2023. As part of the agreement, researchers affiliated with participating Bibliosan members will have full access to Frontiers' open science tools and infrastructure, including its collaborative peer-review platform, article and author impact metrics, and enhanced dissemination tools such as Loop. Bibliosan and its members will also benefit from transparent and comprehensive expense reporting provided by Frontiers.
All submitted articles will remain subject to Frontiers' editorial processes, policies and conditions including rigorous peer review, and all accepted articles will be published under an open license (CC-BY) that allows authors (or their institutions) to retain copyright.
The framework is exclusively reserved for the members of the Italian consortium of Biomedical Research Libraries - Bibliosan. As a result of ongoing interest from Italian universities in having similar arrangements, Frontiers will, in 2021, explore the possibilities of having a similar arrangement in place for Italian universities.
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