UK's Jisc Signs New Open Access Agreement with MDPI

MDPI is pleased to announce that it has signed a new two-year open access agreement with the UK’s Jisc consortium. Until the end of 2027, more than 60 UK institutions will have access to MDPI’s Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP), including substantial discounts on Article Processing Charges (APCs).

The latest institution to join MDPI’s partnership program is De Montfort University. The University of the West of Scotland, University of West London, Robert Gordon University, and University of Leicester also joined in 2025. These new additions reflect widespread demand for quality OA publishing services in the UK, alongside sustained regional uptake in Gold OA.

Institutions opting for centralised funding will receive higher APC discounts and tailored invoicing. Affiliated researchers will also receive discounts on Book Processing Charges (BPC) at MDPI Books, as well as reduced costs on MDPI’s Author Services and Journal and Article Management System (JAMS).

Becky Castellon, institutional partnerships manager at MDPI, said: "Since 2023, MDPI has published roughly 30,000 articles affiliated with UK institutions, 98% of which are indexed in Web of Science or Scopus. More than 4,200 of these papers received APC fee waivers through the IOAP. This speaks to MDPI’s pivotal role in making research visible and accessible, driven by 30 years of expertise in Open Access. Our new agreement with Jisc ensures this legacy continues, removing barriers to OA at a time of significant pressure in UK scholarship."

Regionalised Support for Scholars in the UK

MDPI’s UK office opened in 2019. Since then, it has played a central role in the publisher’s national engagement strategy. In addition to the IOAP, MDPI UK hosts several outreach activities within the region, including Academic Publishing Workshops and the annual UK Summit, aimed at providing tailored support to UK researchers. In 2024, 94% of UK authors rated their overall experience with MDPI as excellent or good (MDPI UK Annual Report 2024).

Jaime Anderson, operations manager at MDPI UK, said: "More than 3,500 editorial board members (EBMs) across the UK currently collaborate with MDPI, including 49 editors-in-chief (EiCs) and 72 section EiCs. These EBMs actively guide the direction of our journals, so ensuring they feel well supported is a core priority. Our outreach events provide key opportunities to strengthen these relationships, while gathering first-hand feedback about community needs and expectations. Our new agreement with Jisc further reflects our efforts to reinforce regional OA networks and empower local research communities."

Contact

MDPI External Affairs Team (email)

About Jisc

Established in 1993, Jisc (Joint Information Systems Committee) is a not-for-profit membership organisation that provides digital, data, and technology solutions to support tertiary education, research, and innovation in the UK. Jisc’s central purpose is to harness the power of technology and data to transform how knowledge is created, shared, and applied. The organisation also develops critical infrastructure such as the Janet Network, the UK’s national research and education network (NREN), and offers intelligence on emerging industry trends.