Open Access and Licence Management
ZBW as consortium leader and chief negotiator
Photo: Thomas Panzau
The ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics plays a central role in the open access transformation of the economics publishing market. As consortium leader and chief negotiator, the ZBW not only acts as an intermediary between research institutions and publishers, but also actively shapes the framework for the future publishing landscape. In 2025, numerous agreements were renegotiated and, building on previous experience, negotiations began for a follow-up transformation agreement with the academic publisher Taylor & Francis.
Renewal of the contract with the academic publisher Taylor & Francis
The ZBW plays a central role in the open access transformation of the academic publishing market. This involves not only coordinating consortia but also negotiating framework conditions that meet the diverse requirements of academic institutions. As the lead negotiator, the ZBW is in direct contact with other consortium-leading institutions at national and international level and, together with partners, develops contract models that support the transition to open access.
A key example of this is the renewal of the contract with the academic publisher Taylor & Francis. Following intensive negotiations, the ZBW has succeeded in establishing a model for an initial three-year contract period that enables Open Access without placing an additional financial burden on the participating institutions. In addition to around 120 universities, higher education institutions and research organisations, the institutes of the Leibniz Association, amongst others, also benefit from clearly regulated publication options across the publisher’s entire portfolio. However, both the negotiating team and the publisher made it clear that this was merely the basis for the further development of a robust ‘Read & Publish’ agreement. Well in advance of the end of the first term, a negotiating group led by the ZBW was established in 2025, and intensive negotiations were conducted with Taylor & Francis to ensure the continuation of the consortium.
Read-&-Publish agreement with Emerald Publishing
Another successful outcome of the negotiations is the development of the Read & Publish agreement with Emerald Publishing. The ZBW is thereby creating clear benefits for users at participating institutions. Access to the content of Emerald’s journals is reliable and governed by favourable financial terms; depending on the respective needs profiles, the publisher’s entire range of journals or individual subject packages can be licensed through the consortium. At the same time, publishing in Open Access in the covered journals is contractually agreed without additional fees. A streamlined workflow reduces the administrative burden for authors and ensures transparency regarding the conditions for Open Access publication. Overall, the consortium’s offering supports both the comprehensive provision of specialist literature and the visibility and reusability of the consortium’s own research results in Open Access.
Consortium services expanded and terms improved
In 2025, for example, the ZBW negotiated a Germany-wide agreement covering two options as part of the newly formed consortium with the Economist Group. Firstly, access to the news platform ‘The Economist’ for individual use by staff at the institutions participating in the consortium is being established. Secondly, there is a consortium-based offer for the provider’s EIU Viewpoint database, under significantly improved terms. EIU Viewpoint combines analysis, context and data within an integrated platform, thereby supporting research, market and country analyses, as well as the assessment of political and economic developments. Twenty academic institutions have already decided to make this new access available to their staff and students via the consortium.
The ZBW 2025 has also secured a new agreement in the field of factual databases. Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) is one of the world’s leading providers of equity indices, risk management tools and analytical instruments. It offers MSCI sustainability and climate data, providing a wide range of data solutions that help users assess sustainability and climate risks. The licence terms, which are primarily geared towards the financial markets, have been adapted for the consortium’s use in economic research and academic teaching and can thus be utilised by interested academic institutions. MSCI complements the ZBW consortium for LSEG – which is used by over 60 institutions – another leading platform for financial market and economic data operated by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
Further information on the ZBW consortium:https://www.zbw.eu/en/about-us/zbw-consortium
This text was written in April 2026.
This text was translated on 30 June 2026 using DeeplPro.