JMIR Publications, an open-access digital health research publisher, and Iowa State University have updated their long-standing partnership, moving from a multi-payor model to JMIR’s Flat-Fee Unlimited Open Access Publishing model.
Iowa State is the first research university in the United States to adopt this approach, which eliminates publishing costs for affiliated researchers. They join a growing number of institutions worldwide that provide researchers with zero-charge publishing opportunities. As an independent open-access publisher, JMIR Publications emphasizes removing barriers to both reading and publishing health research, with institutional partnerships playing an important role in achieving that goal.
According to Dennis O’Brien, Vice President of Communications and Partnerships at JMIR Publications, Iowa State has been one of the organization’s longest and most significant institutional partners. Under the previous arrangement, the university partially funded article processing charges (APCs) for affiliated researchers, which reduced but did not always remove financial barriers. The new flat-fee agreement, O’Brien noted, reflects Iowa State’s commitment to open science and the value placed on JMIR’s gold open-access journals.
Matthew Goddard of the Iowa State University Library explained that supporting open science is a strategic priority for the library. He added that the updated agreement with JMIR simplifies the process by eliminating the administrative work involved in paying individual APCs.
The new partnership took effect on September 1, 2025, and will remain in place through December 31, 2027.
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