The SCOAP3 initiative, a global effort to fund open access (OA) to particle physics research, has been extended for an additional three years, commencing in 2025. The extension will ensure that researchers worldwide can continue to publish and access high-energy physics articles at no cost, thanks to the collective contributions of over 3,000 institutions from more than 45 countries.
As SCOAP3 celebrates its 10th anniversary, it has successfully funded nearly 70,000 OA articles across 11 leading journals in the field. Since its inception in 2014, SCOAP3 has established open access as the norm in high-energy physics, removing financial and administrative barriers for authors and setting a global standard for sustainable and equitable OA.
In its upcoming fourth phase (2025-2027), SCOAP3 will introduce the Open Science Incentives Mechanism. This new initiative will reward publishers for adopting open science practices, such as the use of persistent identifiers, the availability of datasets and software, enriched metadata, and improved accessibility. Additionally, publishers will be encouraged to disclose efforts in sustainability, data privacy, financial transparency, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with this information made publicly available on the SCOAP3 website. These innovations aim to further integrate research papers into an interconnected open science ecosystem, advancing the global adoption of open science.
The American Physical Society (APS) has renewed its participation in this next phase of SCOAP3, ensuring that authors can continue to publish high-energy physics articles in three of its Physical Review journals—Physical Review Letters, Physical Review C, and Physical Review D—with no Article Processing Charges (APCs). APS has been a key participant in SCOAP3 since 2018, and this renewal guarantees uninterrupted open access publishing for its journals through 2027. Papers published under this agreement will remain freely accessible to all, immediately upon publication.
Through this renewal, APS reaffirms its commitment to open science, complementing other recent initiatives like its updated data availability policy and the adoption of Research Organization Registry identifiers. As SCOAP3 moves into its innovative fourth phase, APS is excited to support and advance open science initiatives within the global physics research community.
This collaborative approach between libraries, research agencies, and publishers exemplifies the power of partnership in achieving equitable global open access and sets a model for other disciplines to follow.
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