Bibsam Consortium and MDPI extend national open access deal for Swedish universities
22 institutions remain part of national publishing deal for discounted access to MDPI’s services
The Bibsam Consortium has extended its publishing agreement with MDPI, maintaining a national-level partnership that provides 22 Swedish institutions with access to the publisher’s Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP).
The renewal covers article processing charge (APC) discounts and other benefits for affiliated authors.
Bibsam negotiates publishing and license agreements on behalf of Swedish universities, public research institutes, and government agencies. The consortium currently represents 95 institutions. MDPI, based in Switzerland, publishes over 445 open-access journals spanning all major scientific disciplines.
Participating institutions under the renewed agreement include KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Linnaeus University, Linköping University, and Stockholm University.
Agreement extends support for central funding and APC workflows
The arrangement provides institutions with centralized billing options and administrative simplification. Under the agreement, eligible authors affiliated with participating institutions receive reduced APCs when publishing with MDPI.
Becky Castellon, institutional partnerships manager at MDPI, said:
“With robust backing from national open science guidelines, Sweden's open-access landscape is rapidly advancing. In fact, fewer than 15% of all Swedish research outputs were locked behind paywalls in 2023.
“We are passionate about the positive impact our ongoing partnership with the Bibsam Consortium will have on Swedish research, paving the way for ground-breaking developments and a more inclusive, open scientific community. Through flexible solutions and tailored policies, we enable institutions to prioritize research, foster innovation, and enhance accessibility, driving the shift to full open access.”
