The Potential Role for Intermediaries in Managing the Payment of Open Access Article Processing Charges (APCs)

This report examines the operational challenges that universities, funders and publishers face in the UK relating to the payment of article processing charges (APCs) – the charges levied by the publishers of open access and hybrid journals to meet the costs of the publication process. It then examines the feasibility of using intermediaries of various kinds to provide services to aggregate payments as between universities and publishers, along with other services relating to the processes involved in ensuring that an article is published on open access terms. The aim would be to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes involved for funders, universities and publishers