F1000 Research deal 'strengthens Taylor & Francis’ capabilities'

Academic publisher Taylor & Francis Group has announced the addition of open research publisher F1000 Research.

The addition is being described as a further step in strengthening Taylor & Francis’ capabilities in open access and open research, and extending its range of publishing services. 

Annie Callanan, chief executive of Taylor & Francis, said: 'The addition of F1000 Research significantly strengthens and extends our capabilities in open research and broader publishing services. It also brings with it a strong culture of innovation and challenging the status quo. This will be invaluable as we evolve to meet the research needs of the 21st century; offering options to create the impact needed to convert research into solutions quickly.'

In 2013 F1000 Research launched the world’s first open research publishing platform. It also provides fully managed, open research publishing services directly to research funders and institutions, including Wellcome, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Health Research Board Ireland. 

Taylor & Francis says it will provide investment, expertise and ongoing support to enable F1000 Research to continue to develop its range of publishing services, supporting continued innovation in scholarly communication and accelerating impact across the whole research ecosystem.

Rebecca Lawrence, managing director at F1000 Research, said: 'Having the expertise and support of a large, historic and established publisher will strengthen our ability to innovate in scholarly communications, bringing benefits to the whole research ecosystem. We will be super-charged with the resources not only to maintain our philosophy and collaborative partnership approach, but to grow, flourish and continue to innovate in support of our shared commitments to customers on speed, transparency, quality and impact.'

The organisations say the move also opens up opportunities to connect the humanities and science communities who currently partner with Routledge and Taylor & Francis to F1000 Research’s services. While continuing to operate independently, F1000 Research will become a component of Taylor & Francis’s range of open research services and Plan S-compliant platforms.

Vitek Tracz, founder of F1000 Research, said: 'The default way for researchers to share their findings, the research journal, is evolving. F1000 Research proposed an efficient, transparent mechanism to respond to the rapidly growing range of needs and opportunities in the way information is shared. The task now needs input and support from a more established partner and I am happy that in the leadership of Taylor & Francis and Informa, we have found a team who understands and is committed to continuing this evolution.'

F1000Prime and F1000Workspace are not included in this transaction and will continue under the ownership of Vitek Tracz.