Dutch research institutions and Elsevier announce new agreements

Commitment to open access

The new read and publish agreement reaffirms the commitment of the research community in the Netherlands to open access. The agreement continues to provide Dutch researchers with reading rights to the peer-reviewed content from Elsevier’s portfolio of journals via ScienceDirect. The new agreement additionally provides 100% open access publishing in eligible journals for all participating institutions*. It is also a step forward in transparency in the areas of privacy, AI, text and data mining and user rights. A separate agreement provides access to Scopus, the world’s largest multidisciplinary, trusted abstract and citations database.

Anton Pijpers, representing the Universities of the Netherlands, said: “We are pleased with the renewal of the agreement with Elsevier for Dutch institutions. The collaboration with Elsevier in the past years has led to an efficient process for researchers to publish and we are working towards a better understanding on how to deal with privacy, AI, text and data mining and user rights. The major cutbacks in higher education in the Netherlands are putting pressure on these types of agreements and this deal with Elsevier allows us to proceed with sharing the results of Dutch research as open as possible, while working towards new models in the future.”

Supporting research ambitions

Laura Hassink, Elsevier Managing Director for Elsevier’s Scientific, Technical and Medical Journals, said: “The aim of the new agreement is to further support the Netherlands’ research ambitions and maintain the trusted relationship we have built with the research community over many years. Open access is an integral part of how Elsevier supports researchers in advancing knowledge and our agreement reflects the objectives of Dutch research, the current economic landscape and represents fair value for both parties. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership in the Netherlands, helping to advance science and improve health outcomes.”

As the Netherlands continues to advance its open access ambitions, these new agreements promise to deliver substantial benefits to the research community while fostering collaboration and innovation in the years to come.

The contract is publicly available and registered on the ESAC Registry.

Dutch research performing organisations 

66 Dutch research performing organisations are covered by these agreements:

• 14 universities (UNL, Universities of the Netherlands)
• 7 university medical centres (NFU, Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres)
• 23 universities of applied science
• 10 National Research Institutes (NWO-I, Foundation for Dutch Scientific Research Institutes)
• 12 Academy Institutes (KNAW, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences)