Transformative Agreement (TA) is an agreement negotiated between institutions and publishers to enable inclusion of Article Processing Charge (APC) for open access publishing in the journal subscription fee, driving a transition of scholarly journal publishing towards open access. This new business model consists of two main components namely “Read” and “Publish”. “Read” refers to the subscription expenditure spent for accessing journal articles published behind a paywall, and “Publish” refers to the costs of open access publishing of articles produced by scholars and researchers affiliated to the institution.
Source: Efficiency and Standards for Article Charges, ESAC (https://esac-initiative.org/about/transformative-agreements/)
Our Agreement Partners
The University Libraries has signed transformative agreements with the various publishers, providing HKU-affiliated authors with full Article Processing Charge waivers for publishing articles in eligible open access and hybrid journals. Further details of the agreement terms are listed in the below section.
The Libraries will continue to negotiate with more potential partners and explore the opportunities in getting the best deal for open access publishing at HKU. Currently a number of publishers are offering APC discounts to HKU authors. The list of publishers and details of their offers can be found here.
Cambridge University Press - Read and Publish Agreement
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
The corresponding author of the submitted article is affiliated with HKU at the point of acceptance, including staff and students. The manuscripts have to be accepted within the agreement period. In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2022 - 31 December 2026 |
| Type of publication | Only applies to 5 types of article - “research article”, “review article”, “Rapid communications”, “brief report”, and “case report”. Detailed descriptions can be referred to here. |
| Journal coverage | Over 370+ OA and hybrid journals are covered in the Read & Publish agreement. Download a list of eligible CUP journal titles via this link. |
| Quota limit | No quota limit for individual author as long as your articles are accepted within the agreement period. |
More details on the CUP Read and Publish Agreement with JULAC, Hong Kong can be found here.
Procedures
Source: The Cambridge University Press (https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/open-access-policies/read-and-publish-agreements)
Step 1
Manuscript Submission and Peer Review
Go to the journal homepage page on Cambridge Core and click on “Submit your article”. Then, complete a submission form on the journal’s Online Peer Review System (OPRS). After submission, your manuscript will go through the editorial and peer review process.
Note: Please use your HKU affiliation, address, and email for manuscript submission in order to obtain the APC waiver.
Step 2
Manuscript Acceptance and Publication Decision
Once your manuscript has been accepted, follow the instructions in the acceptance email to complete an Author Publishing Agreement. If publishing in a hybrid journal, ensure you select 'Gold Open Access'.
On the agreement form, select your choice of Creative Commons (CC) license for your article to be published.
Step 3
APC Transaction Process
An email will be sent to you in 48 hours from Rightslink®, the third party system used by CUP to transact APCs. Follow the instructions on the email to register a Rightslink account if you do not have one. Login to the Rightslink system, choose “Seek funding from the University of Hong Kong” to apply for the full APC waiver and submit your request for approval*.
Note: Quota is unlimited. Once your eligibility has been verified by the system, you will be able to obtain the approval to proceed.
Step 4
Publication in Open Access
You will be notified once your funding request has been approved. Your work will undergo the publication process and be available online in open access.
You can also refer to the author guides by the Cambridge University Press here for more information on the workflow of open access publishing.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press - Transformative Agreement
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
Corresponding authors affiliated with HKU at the point of acceptance are eligible for full waiver of APC for accpeted articles published in eligible journals In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2023 - 31 December 2024 |
| Type of publication | Fully peer-reviewed research, review, and case-study articles |
| Journal coverage |
Five journals: Genes & Development, Genome Research, RNA, Learning & Memory, CSH Molecular Case Studies
Details can be found on this page. |
| Quota limit | Unlimited within the agreement period |
More details on the can be found here.
Procedures
There is no change in submission procedures.
Please refer to the “Information for Authors” link at the journal homepage to which you wish to submit your article. After your article is accepted for publication, you will then be informed of your Open Access publishing options.
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
Corresponding Authors who are affiliated with the University of Hong Kong at the point of acceptance In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2024 - 31 December 2025 |
| Type of publication |
Original research paper relating to original research (I.e., This does not include review papers, commentaries, correspondence, corrections, additions, posters or any other content or material) |
| Journal coverage |
Five journals: |
| Quota limit | Unlimited |
More details on The Company of Biologists' Read & Publish Open Access agreements can be found here.
1.
During article submission, make sure you enter the University of Hong Kong as the affiliation of the corresponding author, which is used to determine eligibility for waived article processing charges.
When providing your contact details, include your institutional email address, as well as the full name and address of your institution, including country.
2.
If you are submitting an article to Development, Journal of Cell Science or Journal of Experimental Biology, in the Open Access section, check the [Gold Open Access/CC-BY] and [Read & Publish fee waiver] boxes.
Note: Only CC-BY is available for the open access license.
3.
When your article is accepted, the publisher will send you a link to the RightsLink system and a fee-waiver will be applied.
You will receive a confirmation email as soon as your eligibility is confirmed.
For more details, check: https://www.biologists.com/library-hub/read-publish/guide-for-authors/
IOP Publishing - Read & Publish Agreement
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
"Corresponding Author" affiliated with the University of Hong Kong at the point of acceptance Notes: The “Corresponding Author” is the author who submits a manuscript to and communicates with the journal. In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025 |
| Type of publication |
Eligible article types include: |
| Journal coverage |
IOP hybrid & gold open access journals Details of the journal titles can be found at: https://publishingsupport.iopscience.iop.org/questions/eligible-journals-transformative-agreements/ (Lists A, B, C & D), ECS Advances and ECS Sensors Plus |
| Quota limit | Unlimited free APC credits |
More details on IOP Publishing's Transformative Agreements can be found here.
1.
Submit manuscript to an eligible IOP Publishing journal via ScholarOne (IOP Publishing journals' submission system).
2.
At step 4 (Author Information), enter author information. Make sure the affiliation is clearly stated on the submission form. Use the autofill to provide institution name.
There will be only one corresponding author, who submits the manuscript and communicates with the journal during the process.
3.
Progress to the Step 6 (Policies & Information).
Decide open access choice.
Only in the event that the article is found to be ineligible, the selection here will apply. If you do not wish to pay an APC to publish open access, select ‘No’.
4.
No matter which choice is made in the above step, IOP will always check whether the article is eligible under an institutional agreement. If so, there will be a separate notification email with a subject line ‘Open access options for your article: article ID’.
5.
During the peer review process, or after article is accepted, sign the open access copyright form to publish under a CC-BY licence.
Request for APC waiver will be handled.
Note:
Most IOP Publishing journals uses ScholarOne.
A small number of the journals do not use ScholarOne. For those, the submission process will differ but eligible articles will still be identified and authors will receive relevant notification e-mails.
View a quick guide on the procedure by IOP Publishing here:
Karger - Publish and Access Agreement
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
Corresponding authors affiliated with HKU at the point of acceptance are eligible for full coverage of APC and Author's ChoiceTM publication fee and all additional publication costs for articles published in full Open Access and hybrid journals (subscription journals with an Open Access option). In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2021 - 31 December 2026 |
| Type of publication | Eligible article types include: “original research articles”, “review articles”, “proceedings”, “letters”, and “editorials”, etc. |
| Journal coverage | Full OA and hybrid journals covering a wide range of biomedical subject areas are included in the Open Access (or Publish & Access) agreement. Details of the eligible journal titles can be found on this page. |
| Quota limit | Unlimited free APC credits as long as your articles are accepted within the agreement period. |
More details on the Karger Publish and Access Agreements can be found here.
Procedure
Step 1
Go to the journal homepage page and click on “Submit Manuscript”.
Step 2
Login to the Karger manuscript manager system. If you do not have an account, create a new one. Click "author" for the author dashboard.
Note: Please use your HKU affiliation, address, and email for account registration in order to obtain the APC waiver.
Step 3
Click "Start a new Submission" to start filling out the submission form.
Under the section “Open Access Agreements”:
Step 4
After submitting the application for the APC waiver, the corresponding author’s name and email address will be used by Karger to determine eligibility.
View a quick guide on the procedure by Karger here:
www.karger.com/open-access/submit-and-publish-open-access.
Microbiology Society - Read & Publish Agreement
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
Corresponding Author affiliated with the University of Hong Kong on the date of submission In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025 |
| Type of publication |
Articles |
| Journal coverage |
Microbiology Society hybrid & full open access journals/platforms Details of the titles can be found at: https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/submission-and-peer-review#1 |
| Quota limit | Unlimited free APC credits |
More details on Microbiology Society's Read & Publish Agreements can be found here.
1.
Submit your manuscript to an eligible journal. Provide affiliation and your HKU email in the manuscript.
In the Editorial manager submission system, enter your "@hku.hk" email and affiliation.
2.
During submission, indicate your eligibility ("Yes") for fee-free Open Access publication via a Publish and Read agreement.
3.
Submit article for Open Access publication ("Yes") and click "View Publication Charges" to confirm eligibility.
4.
After the APC request is handled, you will receive an email confirmation that the article is covered for fee-free Open Access publication.
5.
An acknowledge will be shown on the bottom of the first page of the published paper:
"This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author's institution."
Note:
If you have any queries, please contact journals@microbiologysociety.org with the subject line:
Publish and Read query (and provide your manuscript number).
View a quick guide on the procedure by Microbiology Society here:
https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/upload/MBS_Pub_Readauthorguide.pdf
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
Corresponding Author affiliated with the University of Hong Kong at the point of acceptance In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2023 - 31 December 2024 |
| Type of publication | Unlimited |
| Journal coverage | All 7 Portland Press journals. Details of the journal titles can be found at: https://portlandpress.com/pages/submit_your_work |
| Quota limit | Unlimited free APC credits |
More details on Portland Press's Read & Publish Agreement can be found here.
1.
Submit manuscript to a Portland Press journal.
Validate affiliation by clicking on "Validate Institution". In the pop-up window, search for The University of Hong Kong and save.
2.
Progress to the Detailed Information tab of the submission form. The system will check the affiliation against the list of institutional agreements in RightsLink.
A message will be shown for institution holding an active Read & Publish agreement with Portland Press.
3.
After article is accepted, request for APC waiver will be handled.
Download a quick guide on the procedure by Portland Press here:
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
Corresponding Author who is a current teaching/research staff member or a student at University of Hong Kong at the point of acceptance In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026 |
| Type of publication |
Limited to: |
| Journal coverage |
Springer Hybrid Journals Check the list at: https://www.springernature.com/gp/open-research/oa-agreements/julac |
| Quota limit | Limited free APC credits. First come first served. |
More details on Springer Nature’s transformational agreements can be found here.
1.
When you are the corresponding author, once your article has been editorially accepted by an eligible hybrid journal, you will receive an invitation to complete the publishing agreement.
2.
In Open Access information page, read basic information about publishing the article open access, including the Article Processing Charge (APC).
3.
Confirm the affiliation provided on submission for eligibility.
Note:
You can change the affiliation if you have moved or it is incorrect. Changing affiliation here only affects identification for open access agreements, not the affiliation listed on the published article.
4.
Select institution (the University of Hong Kong) and the system will identify possible eligible agreements.
If you are publishing an appropriate article type in an included journal, you can ask the institution to cover the publishing costs.
5.
Read confirmation information about the agreement. Click "Next" to publish your article under the agreement between HKU and Springer Nature.
Note:
An option to opt out of the agreement and publish under a subscription model is available at this stage.
6.
Read the summary of the information you have provided and the agreements selected. Change incorrect information, if any, at this stage.
If the quota under the agreement is used up, you will be informed here.
7.
Your request will be processed by the Libraries.
8.
Once your request is approved, proceed to agree to publish, sign Licence to Publish (LTP), and confirm the completed license.
Note:
In case of rejection, the author has the option to publish open access with his/her own funding or publish traditionally non-open access.
For more details, check: https://www.springernature.com/gp/open-research/oa-agreements/julac
| Item | Description |
| Eligibility |
Responsible Corresponding Author affiliated with the University of Hong Kong at the point of acceptance In the manuscript submitted, the affiliation (or one of the affiliations) of the corresponding author must be the University of Hong Kong. |
| Agreement period | 1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025 |
| Type of publication |
Limited to article types which are primary research and review articles, including but not limited to: |
| Journal coverage | Selected Wiley and Hindawi fully and hybrid open access journals Details of the eligible journal titles can be found at: – Wiley hybrid open access journal: https://authorservices.wiley.com/asset/Wiley-Journal-APCs-OnlineOpen.xlsx – Wiley fully open access or Hindawi journals: https://authorservices.wiley.com/asset/Wiley-Journal-APCs-Open-Access.xlsx |
| Quota limit | Limited free APC credits. First come first served. |
More details on Wiley’s transformational agreements can be found here.
The application procedures for I. Wiley hybrid open access journals, II. Wiley fully open access journals or III. Hindawi journals are different. Please scroll down for details.
1.
After article accepted by a Wiley hybrid open access journal, register or log in to Wiley Author Services at https://authorservices.wiley.com/home.html.
Click on the ‘Manage article’ button.
2.
Confirm author role.
Only one author can be selected as the Responsible Corresponding Author, who is the only person responsible for signing the license. His/her affiliation is used to determine eligibility for APC coverage.
3.
Add/edit any new/existing funder(s).
4.
Confirm/enter institutional affiliation.
When there is an exact match for eligible institutional affiliation, an eligibility message will show on the main homepage of Author Services, as well.
If affiliations with multiple institutions were entered, select which institution is most appropriate to cover the open access fees.
A purple ‘Open Access’ box will also be shown to alert the author that he/she has triggered the eligibility criteria for funding based on their affiliation.
5.
Select Copyright Ownership.
6.
Confirm open access by clicking "Yes, make my article open access".
7.
Select a Creative Commons license. Sign and submit the license.
After signing and submitting license for the article, a funding request will be submitted to the institution for review and approval.
8.
If the request is approved, there will be a confirmation email.
If the request is denied, there will be an email asking the author to pay for open access. If open access is not paid for, the article will be published as a subscription article.
Download a quick guide on the procedure by Wiley here:
https://authorservices.wiley.com/asset/Make-your-article-open-access-with-OnlineOpen.pdf
1.
Submit manuscript to the Wiley fully open access journal via ScholarOne or ReX. Indicate affiliation with Wiley Open Access Account in payment question.
1A.
via ScholarOne
Indicate affiliation to the payment question during manuscript submission.
Click Account Code Tool to look for the code for The University of Hong Kong. Enter the code.
1B.
Via ReX
Select affiliation.
2.
Before manuscript acceptance, if the APC request is approved, there will be a notification email.
3.
When the article is accepted, sign the license agreement. No payment steps are necessary.
Download a quick guide on the procedure by Wiley here:
https://authorservices.wiley.com/asset/Publishing-Your-Article-In-a-Fully-Open-Access-Journal.pdf
1.
Agree to the APC in the pre-submission checklist.
After the manuscript passes the screening process, eligibility checks and approval will be performed in the back end. Authors would not need to make payment or perform further actions.
2.
Select affiliation during journal submission.
Using HKU email address and including full institutional information can make the verification process easier and ensure that funding is accurately applied.
3.
APC request will be handled before manuscript acceptance.
If the request is approved, there will be an email notification.
Download a quick guide on the procedure by Hindawi here:
https://authorservices.wiley.com/asset/Hindawi-open-access-author-workflow.pdf
