Springer Nature signs Canada and Colombia transformative deals

Springer Nature has agreed to two transformative agreements (TAs) which it says further pave the way for achievable and sustainable pathways to open research in the Americas. These include the first TAs for the publisher in Canada and Colombia and follows Springer Nature’s landmark agreement with the University of California in 2020.

The first transformative agreement in Canada for members of the Federal Science Libraries Network (FSLN) helps deliver on Canada's Roadmap for Open Science to make federal scientific publications openly accessible by providing members with the ability to publish OA. The agreement starts immediately. The agreement with Consorcio Colombia, which starts in July, marks what Springer Nature describes as 'a step in favour of global academic communication and the recognition of Colombian scientific capabilities in all areas of knowledge'.

Both agreements provide the ability to publish OA in more than 2,000 of Springer Nature’s hybrid journals, including Springer, Palgrave and Adis portfolios.

In December 2021, Springer Nature became the first publisher to immediately publish one million gold OA primary research and review articles. Nearly 2.5 million authors across all academic disciplines and from around the globe have therefore been supported in making their research OA, benefiting from the increased impact, usage and reach publishing OA provides.

Carolyn Honour, chief commercial officer at Springer Nature, said: 'Transformative Agreements are a key driver in the sustainable transition to OA which in turn is an important precursor to open science. We remain focused on facilitating this transition for a growing number of institutions and federal agencies supporting academic collaboration, discoverability and usability at scale. With agreements in place in Canada, Latin America and the US, we have built sustainable models for others to follow, ensuring that open science can thrive in the Americas.'

Springer Nature signed its first TA in 2014 with the Netherlands and now has 17  national agreements in place including the world’s largest by article volume with Projekt DEAL in Germany and the first national TA within Egypt of any publisher with government support. Evidence shows that countries with these agreements in place with Springer Nature see between 70% - 90% of their authors publishing OA.