We have some exciting news to share! We are launching a new pilot initiative aimed at making open access (OA) publishing more equitable and affordable, as part of Wiley’s ongoing commitment to fostering inclusivity and accessibility in scholarly publishing. Under this pilot, authors in Latin America will be able to publish in any of Wiley’s fully open access journals at a price that is tied to the purchasing power of their region. 

We are listening to researchers and the challenges they face in publishing open access. We hear that the current Article Publication Charge (APC) model comes with challenges. Charging a uniform price across geographies can lead to affordability issues for authors in low- and lower-middle income countries. To explore ways to address this, we’re introducing Wiley’s Open Access Pricing Power Parity Pilot. Through this initiative, we will be testing a new APC pricing framework aligned with regional purchasing power, based on data released by the World Bank’s International Comparison Program. By taking this nuanced approach to pricing, we aim to promote greater equity in scholarly communication and make OA publishing more affordable for authors from regions with lower purchasing power. We will be monitoring the effect of this approach as the pilot progresses. 

Key Highlights of the Pilot

• Regional Focus: The pilot will be implemented in Latin America, including Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. This region is ideal for testing a pricing framework based on regional purchasing power. It has a diversity of economic environments, rapid research growth, and support (but limited funding) for OA publishing.
• Country-Specific Discounts: APC discounts will be applied based on the relative purchasing power of each country, ensuring that authors from underrepresented areas can better afford to publish their research open access. Authors currently eligible for a 100% waiver of APCs under the Research4Life program will continue to receive this benefit. A list of all eligible countries and associated discounts can be found on the Wiley Author Services Waivers and Discounts page.
• Duration and Scope: We anticipate the pilot will run for 12 months, starting on January 21, 2025, and will cover publication in any of Wiley’s nearly 600 fully open access (Gold OA) journals.

Benefits for Authors and the Broader Research Community

• Equity: This initiative aims to promote equity in open access publishing through pricing parity for authors across different countries. 
• Affordability: By aligning APCs with regional purchasing power, authors from low-income regions can publish their work with less financial burden.
• Diversity: Supporting authors from underrepresented regions enriches the diversity of perspectives and research topics in scholarly publications.  Under this initiative, authors from Latin America will have greater opportunities to share their research with the global community, contributing to a more diverse and inclusive scholarly landscape.
• Visibility and Impact: Publishing in open access journals ensures that research is freely accessible to a global audience, increasing the visibility and impact of the authors' work. We hope this initiative will make it easier for more authors to reap these benefits.
• Accessibility: Open access publishing ensures that research findings are freely available to researchers, practitioners, and the public, fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration. 

How Can Authors Participate?

Participating in this pilot is straightforward. From January 21st, authors from the eligible countries can submit their manuscripts to any of Wiley's fully open access journals and APC discounts will be automatically applied based on the country of the corresponding author’s institutional affiliation. Authors do not need to take any additional steps to receive the discount. We encourage authors to take advantage of this opportunity to publish their research open access, and thereby increase the reach and impact of their research.

We Look Forward to Taking This Journey Together

We are really excited to pilot this new approach to APC pricing as part of our wider journey towards more equitable open access publishing and enhanced diversity and inclusivity of our journals. If we can demonstrate success of this approach in reducing barriers to publishing open access, then we can explore implications for other regions of the world. 

Alongside this pilot, we continue to discuss open access with institutions, funders, and governments across the globe while expanding open access coverage through new transformational agreements and other agreements. We also continue to offer discounts and waivers for APCs to authors around the world through our participation in the Research4Life program. We will continue listening to the feedback we get from authors, funders, institutions and readers, and taking note of what other organizations are doing in this space. We look forward to taking this journey with you as we continue to explore new paths towards a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive open access ecosystem.