July saw us sign up our tenth Foundation Member, the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat, Morocco – one of two public oncology centres in Morocco providing free care and treatment for cancer patients.

Foundation Membership is an initiative from BioMed Central that enables institutions in developing countries to demonstrate their commitment and support for open access publishing.

BioMed Central, Chemistry Central and SpringerOpen are committed to providing immediate and free access to all the research published in our 200+ journals. To meet the cost of publishing, authors who publish in our open access journals are required to pay an article-processing charge (APC) per published paper. However to support researchers in developing countries, BioMed Central operates a waiver scheme that enables authors to publish their research without incurring the usual APC.

Open access publishing requires libraries to maintain their pivotal role in supporting researchers with the dissemination of research and in the advocacy of publishing choices. BioMed Central created the Foundation Membership to support libraries in the developing world with this aim.

Foundation Members gain from a range of benefits, including a branded webpage on the BioMed Central website showcasing the member’s research, a Member’s welcome pack and complimentary subscriptions to additional subscription products and services.

We also help the member institution to manage their membership and promote it both within their institution and externally to a global audience. This raises the profile of their research output and reinforces their advocacy to open access.