Wiley in 'transformative' partnership with German academic institutions

Wiley has signed what it describes as a “transformative” partnership with Projekt DEAL, which represents nearly 700 academic institutions in Germany.

The three-year agreement means that, for an annual fee, all those 700 institutions will have access to read Wiley’s academic journals dating back to 1997, while researchers at the institutions can publish articles open access with Wiley journals. The publisher said the partnership would "better support institutions and researchers in advancing open science, driving discovery, and developing and disseminating knowledge."  
 
Professor Dr Horst Hippler, head of the DEAL project, said a “core goal” had been achieved: “a fair pricing model, which will allow us to make research accessible in an affordable and sustainable manner". He added: "It is revolutionary that we are taking this path to an open access publication practice together with Wiley."

Wiley and Projekt DEAL will also launch a new interdisciplinary open access journal together to "publish top-tier scholarship from the global research community and.. serve as a unique forum for the development of new open access publishing models”. An open science and author services development group focused on innovating and accelerating new publishing approaches will also be established between the two partners, together with an annual symposium for early-career German researchers focused on surfacing cutting-edge ideas on the future of research communications.

Wiley’s e.v.p. of Research Judy Verses said: "Wiley is excited to undertake this important partnership with Projekt DEAL. Our partnership and joint projects reflect Wiley’s commitment to the research community, with whom we share a belief that advancing scholarly research and accelerating the creation of knowledge has a profound and lasting positive impact on society. Wiley and Projekt DEAL both believe that we can work together to improve and lead the way in which knowledge is created and shared more openly.”

The contract with Wiley was supported by the Max Planck Society, as a member of the Alliance of Science Organisations behind the Projekt DEAL Consortium, via MPDL Services GmbH. Max Planck president Martin Stratmann said:  “Following the request of the alliance of research organisations in Germany, we have been happy to organise and implement this national contract with Wiley. This is in full accordance with efforts… that the Max Planck Society has undertaken over many years to promote open access of scientific publications, to invest in modern scientific publishing methods and to make sure that the copyrights of scientific articles stay where these belong, namely with our scientists."