The National Institutes of Health has shared plans to implement a cap on what publishers can charge NIH-funded scientists for their research to become available publicly.
The NIH will set limits starting in fiscal 2026 on allowable article processing charges, which are fees researchers sometimes pay to publish their work as open access. The move comes in an attempt to “restore public trust in public health by promoting open, honest and transparent scientific communication,” according to a July 8 news release shared with Becker’s.
“Creating an open, honest and transparent research atmosphere is a key part of restoring public trust in public health,” Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, director of the NIH, said in the release. “This reform will make science accessible not only to the public but also to the broader scientific community, while ending perverse incentives that don’t benefit taxpayers.”
Currently, some researchers are charged up to $13,000 per article by academic publishers to make their work available. Government agencies like the NIH are also paying millions in subscription fees to gain access to research they fund. The news release pointed to an example of a publishing group that receives over $2 million in NIH subscription fees annually, along with “tens of millions more” through APCs.
The cap policy builds on current initiatives like the NIH Public Access Policy, the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool and the NIH Intramural Access Policy.
“This policy marks a critical step in protecting the integrity of the scientific publishing system while ensuring that public investments in research deliver maximum public benefit, “Dr. Bhattacharya said in the release.
