JMIR Publications and Jisc renew flat-fee open access agreement

JMIR Publications and Jisc have announced the renewal of their Flat-Fee Unlimited Open Access Publishing Agreement for 2026–2027.

Since its inception in 2022, the agreement is reported to have removed individual Article Processing Charges (APCs) for researchers at dozens of UK research institutions. In 2025, more than half of all UK research published in JMIR’s journals was APC-free under the model, according to the organisations. The parties also state that participating Jisc-member institutions have collectively published more than 700 articles through the agreement, reducing both administrative burden and cost pressures for researchers and libraries.

“We highly value our partnership with Jisc and their member institutions,” said Dennis O’Brien, VP Communications and Partnerships at JMIR Publications. “Through this agreement we have pioneered a sustainable funding model for Open Access publishing which is now being replicated across the globe. Forward-thinking librarians, like our UK partners, are important allies in our work to preserve bibliodiversity and a bright future for open science.”

The flat-fee model replaces individual APCs with a single institutional payment, simplifying workflows and broadening access to publishing opportunities for researchers at all career stages.

Anna Vernon, Head of Research, Licensing at Jisc, added, “We’re pleased to renew the agreement with JMIR Publications for a further year. The partnership supports Jisc’s mission to remove barriers to open publishing for UK researchers, and ensure fair, sustainable access to OA opportunities across our membership.”

Under the renewed agreement, eligible corresponding authors at participating UK institutions will continue to benefit from unlimited APC-free publishing across JMIR’s portfolio of more than 30 Gold Open Access journals, including the Journal of Medical Internet Research. The agreement applies to articles accepted between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027.