At its heart, the open access movement is built on a simple, powerful idea: that knowledge should be accessible to everyone. Open access is not just a publishing model, but a collaborative effort to ensure that research can be seen, shared, and built upon by anyone who can benefit from it. This is a goal we share.

This article outlines our dedicated journey toward a more open future. We want to share our progress, highlight the initiatives we are proud of, and show how we are working with the global research community to make equitable knowledge sharing a reality. Here, you will learn about key milestones in our transition, see the tangible impact of our open access policies through specific metrics, and discover how we are supporting authors, editors, society partners and institutions around the world .

Our Path to Open: Key Milestones in Wiley’s Transition

The shift to open access is a continuous journey, not a destination. Our strategy is built on fostering partnerships and pursuing sustainable growth to best serve the needs of researchers, institutions, and the public. Are you wondering how we’re making this happen? It starts with creating flexible and expansive pathways to open access publication.

Figure 1: From subscription to open access: the distribution of citable articles published at Wiley 2018-2024

The Rise of Transformational Agreements

Transformational agreements are a cornerstone of our open access strategy. These partnerships with institutions and library consortia allow their affiliated researchers to publish open access in Wiley’s journal portfolio, often with funding centrally managed by the institution. This model simplifies the process for authors and enables a large-scale, sustainable transition toward open access.

• We have signed over 125 transformational agreements worldwide, covering more than 3,500 institutions.
• These agreements have enabled over 95k articles to be published open access, representing a significant increase in the volume of freely available research.

Expanding Our Portfolio of Fully Open Access Journals

For authors who want their work to be immediately and freely available, gold open access journals are an ideal choice. We have been actively expanding our portfolio of fully open access journals to provide more options across a wide range of disciplines.

• We now offer 617 fully open access journals, with this number continuing to grow
• Today, 96% of our hybrid journals offer an open access publishing option, meaning over 97% of our entire journal portfolio supports OA publishing.

Launching New Pathways to Publication

Innovation is key to meeting the evolving needs of the research community. We continue to introduce new and innovative open access models and journal types. This includes a focus on journals that prioritize methodological rigor and journals dedicated to specific, community-focused research areas – including our Forward Series journals.. This investment ensures that there is a suitable and high-quality home for every type of research.

Empowering Communities Through Shared Knowledge

Making research open is about more than just removing paywalls; it's about placing knowledge back into the hands of the community to foster collaboration and accelerate discovery. We are committed to initiatives that help empower researchers and the organizations that support them.

Publication Workshops in Brazil

Wiley colleagues and local editors hosted publication workshops across four Brazilian cities, bringing together over 320 attendees to break down barriers to publishing. These in-person sessions conducted in Brazilian Portuguese created an inclusive environment for open discussion. While our transformational agreement with the CAPES consortium and OA Pricing Power Parity pilot have removed funding barriers for authors from Brazil, awareness still needs improvement. The workshops reinforced Wiley's commitment to valuing Brazilian contributions to research, reviews, and editorial work, demonstrating our dedication to supporting the local research community.

Partnering with Societies for a Sustainable Future

Learned societies are the bedrock of many academic communities. We collaborate closely with over 800 society partners to help them navigate the transition to open access. Our goal is to develop sustainable models that preserve their vital community-building activities and financial stability while unlocking the benefits of open research. Curious about how this collaboration works? We create tailored plans that align with each society's unique mission and membership needs.

• We have successfully supported many of our society partners in transitioning their journals to open access, with over 120 journals now fully OA.
  
• Transitioning to open access can deliver tangible benefits for societies and their journals. For example, Functional Ecology, published by the British Ecological Society, made the move to fully open access with its first OA issue in January this year (following submissions starting in July). Since the transition, readership has surged – up 20% year-to-date (as of September 2025) compared to the same period last year – strengthening the journal’s global reach and influence within the field.

Championing Open Research Practices

Our commitment to openness extends beyond the published article. We actively encourage open research practices, such as the sharing of data, code, and protocols. By promoting transparency in the research process, we help build a more robust and collaborative ecosystem where findings can be more easily verified, reproduced, and built upon.

• A growing percentage of Wiley journals now have policies that either encourage or mandate the sharing of research data, aligning with best practices for open science. 96% of Wiley journals now have a Data Availability Statement (DAS), with 52% expecting or mandating data sharing. And in calendar year 2024, 66% of articles were published with an accompanying DAS.

Making a Global Impact: How Our OA Policies Support Underserved Regions

True knowledge equity means actively breaking down financial and geographical barriers to participation. We believe that a researcher's location or access to funding should not determine their ability to publish or read critical research. Are you looking to make your research accessible to a truly global audience? Our policies are designed to help.

Our Commitment to Research4Life

We are proud to be a long-standing partner of Research4Life (R4L), a vital initiative that provides researchers at institutions in lower-income countries with free or low-cost access to a vast collection of academic and professional content.

• Through our partnership with R4L, we provide access to content for researchers in over 70 eligible countries at more than 4,500 institutions.

• Looking to learn more about how we support this vital initiative? Discover more on Author Services.

Additionally, open access is increasing readership and usage globally, especially in low- and middle- income (LMIC) countries:

• In 2023 open access readership was 86% of all readership in LMIC countries, whereas it was 47% of all readership for China, 63% for high income countries, 69% for upper-middle income countries.

This reflects that readership for open access articles far surpasses controlled articles in general, but particularly for LMIC, and R4L countries where reach and accessibility of controlled articles is limited.

Automatic Waivers and Discounts for Authors

To directly support authors who may lack funding, we have a clear and accessible waiver and discount policy. Authors of articles in our fully gold open access journals from countries defined by Research4Life as Group A and Group B are eligible for automatic waivers or discounts on their article publication charges (APCs).

• In 2024, we provided waivers and discounts for 2,474 articles from authors in eligible countries, directly supporting the publication of their work.
• Do you want to see if you are eligible for funding support? Check the OA funding and waivers eligibility page.

OA Pricing Power Parity Pilot in Latin America

As part of our commitment to equitable open access publishing, Wiley has launched a new pilot initiative to align Article Publication Charges (APCs) with regional purchasing power, in accordance with World Bank income classifications. This Open Access Pricing Power Parity Pilot is being tested across 33 Latin American countries, where authors can publish in any of Wiley’s fully open access journals at a price adjusted to their region’s economic context. R4L group A countries retain 100% APC waivers. By addressing affordability challenges, this initiative aims to promote greater equity and inclusivity in scholarly communication.

Insights from the mid-year review show a significant increase in OA manuscript submissions from pilot countries, with the highest growth coming from Brazil.

What’s Next on Our Open Access Journey?

Our transition to open access is an ongoing commitment, guided by a balanced, mixed-model adaptive approach designed to serve the diverse needs of the research community. We will continue to explore new and equitable OA models, expand our partnerships with institutions and societies, and invest in technology that enhances the author experience. By embracing flexibility and collaboration – with authors, librarians, funders, and institutions – we aim to build a truly open, inclusive, and sustainable future for research.

Find a Home for Your Research

Our commitment to maximizing the reach and impact of your work drives our transition to an open future. By providing more pathways to publish open access, we help you connect with a global audience and contribute to the shared pool of human knowledge.

Are you ready to find the perfect home for your research? Explore our full portfolio of open access and hybrid journals to discover how you can make a global impact.