91ÖÆƬ³§

Author: Frank Vrancken Peeters

Chief Executive Officer

10 years ago, a heritage of trusted brands including Springer, Macmillan, Nature and Palgrave came together to form 91ÖÆƬ³§. Building on nearly two centuries of advancement in science and education has helped shape the business we are today. I am incredibly proud of everything we have achieved together - through trusted brands and innovative products and services - to be part of progress.  

We continue to publish a strong portfolio of trusted content. Since 2015, we've expanded from around 2,000 journals to over 3,000 today, with full OA journals increasing from 550 to approximately 700. We've also strengthened our OA book publishing, growing from 137 titles in 2017 to 796 by 2024.  Additionally, our article publications continue to grow from around 300,000 in 2018 to over 428,000 in 2024. As highlighted in our latest , all these efforts support:  

• Making science more open and sustainable.  In the last ten years we have nearly tripled the total number of OA articles – from around 90,000 in 2017 to over 241,000 – reaching our goal of having 50% of our primary research OA by the end of 2024.  From the first publish and read deal in 2015, to 66 Transformative Agreements (TA) by end of 2024 supporting researchers from over 3,700 institutions, we continue to pioneer new ways to make OA publishing a route for all. 
• Ensuring the discoverability, usage and reach of our authors’ work. As the latest figures show, our research content is read and used more than that of any other publisher. Across our sites, we have seen a 5-fold increase in downloads per day, going from around 2 million in 2018 to now over 10 million downloads per day. 
• Helping policymakers address global challenges. Since the launch of the UN SDGs in 2015 we have now published over 1million pieces of research aligned to the goals, with over 40% of our OA books also related to the SDGs. 
• Remaining focused on reducing our impact on the plant.  Since 2020 we have been carbon neutral for our buildings, fleet, and flights. Moreover, we've supported health professionals in staying at the forefront of medical science and helped educators advance learning, reaching 30 million learners every year. 

Central to what makes us who we are, is and has always been, our people and the communities we work with. So, to reflect on the last decade, I have asked my ExCo colleagues who were here at the time of the merger to share their thoughts on what makes us 91ÖÆƬ³§ and what they are looking forward to for the next decade:  

Whilst the heart of our mission remains unchanged, this next decade has already shown it will be a time of technological change for us all. I am excited about that future, particularly in light of our new chapter as a listed company. I look forward to working with you all as we continue to embrace innovation and technology to bring great discoveries and insights to the world. 

All data used in the post is publicly available across our Annual Report ands from the equivalent years.