Spain is a leader in open science, particularly in green Open Access policy. This is demonstrated through its robust network of repositories centralised in the national aggregator RECOLECTA, which ensures the effectiveness of legislation requiring all publicly funded research results and data to be made openly available.

We outline Spain’s Open Access requirements and supporting infrastructure for those looking to submit or read research.

Why Open Access?

Open Access refers to a publishing model for scholarly research that makes information immediately available to readers at no cost. This research is also free to reuse for scholarly purposes.

Many researchers are choosing to publish their work in an Open Access format. Governments, funding agencies, and higher education institutions are also mandating Open Access to varying degrees.

In our article 6 Benefits of Open Access, we outline the following:

1. Clarity around copyright and licensing ensure that readers know what they can do with work and that they are protected when reusing it.
2. Open Access research receives more citations and from more diverse disciplines, institutions, and locations.
3. 85% of the world’s population live in low-to-middle-income countries. Open Access ensures that vital information and cutting-edge insights are not limited to countries who can pay to access them.
4. Open Access allows people from outside of academia to access research without spending large amounts of resources to access it.
5. Open Access enables interdisciplinary research by allowing researchers to focus on common aims rather than be restricted to what’s in their fields.
6. Many governments, funders, and higher education institutions are requiring Open Access publication. Satisfying their requirements for publication mean your research can receive the backing it needs.

History of Open Access in Spain

Spain has a strong Open Access policy enabled by a network of institutional repositories. Here is a brief history of Open Access in Spain:

• 2007: Launched by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and University Libraries Network (REBIUN), RECOLECTA is launched, serving as a national aggregator for all institutional repositories across Spain.
• 2011: This was a key year for Open Access in Spain.
  • A Royal Decree required the publication of all approved PhD theses in an institutional repository.
  • An act is passed requiring research financed by public funding to be published in institutional Open Access repositories within 12 months of publication.
• 2018: A group of national research funding organisations, with the support of the European Commission and the European Research Council, launched cOAlition S, an initiative to establish full and immediate Open Access to research publications. This is centred around Plan S, the principles behind the initiative.
• 2022: The 2011 Open Access act is updated, eliminating the 12-month embargo and requiring all publicly funded research, data, software, and code be made openly available.
• 2023: The National Open Science Strategy is launched, with annual funding of €23.8 million and the goal of making research more transparent and higher quality.
• 2024: The Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information is passed, calling for the research community to make open and transparent research information the norm.

Spain’s position as the 10th biggest producer of research in terms of output means that its approach to open science will serve as a model for other countries.

The country’s focus on green Open Access, through mandating the sharing of publications in repositories, enables for a highly accessible and cost-effective approach.

International initiatives

Spain participates in various international initiatives relating to Open Access.

Plan S

As a member of the European Union, Spain is part of the international initiative cOAlition S, which is built around Plan S.

Plan S mandates “full and immediate Open Access to peer-reviewed scholarly publications from research funded by public and private grants”. This is supported by ten principles that address copyright, transparency, and criteria for openness, among other things.

Additionally, cOAlition S provides guidance for the implementation of Open Access, news about the movement, and two services for scholars, the Journal Comparison Service and the Journal Checker Tool.

Horizon Europe

Spain is also a member of Horizon Europe.

Horizon Europe will last until 2027 and has a budget of €95.5 billion. Its aims are to facilitate collaboration and strengthen the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting, and implementing EU policies whilst tackling global challenges.

Accordingly, Open Access is mandatory for researchers receiving funding. This is so Horizon Europe can support the “creating and better dispersing of excellent knowledge and technologies”. Its focuses on tackling climate change, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and boosting growth.

Between 2021 and 2024, Spanish entities obtained €4.5 billion from the program, making it the third country by total grants received. Furthermore, Spain leads 686 European projects and is ranked as the first country in the coordination of research and development projects in Horizon Europe.

Click here to learn more about the EU’s Open Access policy.

Current Open Access laws in Spain

The current Spanish policy supports the aims of Plan S of moving towards a research model based on Open Access results and data.

Originally published in 2011 and updated in 2022, Spanish law requires that research results, data, software, and code stemming from public funding must be made Open Access immediately.

The deposit of publicly funded research in repositories must be simultaneous with publication and consist of a copy of the final version accepted for publication. Likewise, the law incorporates the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles in the management of research data. Click here to learn more about FAIR data.

The Organic Law of the University System of 2023 establishes the obligations of universities in promoting open science, strengthening the country’s national Open Access mandate.

Infrastructure network

Spain’s requirements for open publication are enabled by a robust network of institutional repositories.

RECOLECTA (which stands for REpositorios COLECTivos de Acceso Abierto) is the national aggregator for the country’s repositories. The platform provides a searchable index for users to access research from 195 institutional or subject-based repositories.

The objectives of RECOLECTA are the following:

• To promote, support, and facilitate the adoption of Open Access by all researchers from Spanish universities and R&D centres.
• To provide greater national and international visibility for the results of research carried out in Spain.
• To promote and coordinate the national infrastructure of Open Access digital scientific repositories and ensure that they are interoperable.

Other leading repositories include DIGITAL.CSIC, which is hosted by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), and Dialnet, which is a virtual library of Spanish-language research literature.

National open science strategy

In 2023, the Spanish government approved the first national open science strategy. This four-year plan involves a €23.8 million annual budget to make all publicly funded research free to access as soon as it is published.

The government hopes it will strengthen the quality and transparency of research in Spain and help promote movement towards a digital, low-carbon economy.

The strategy involves four key objectives:

• Establish interoperable digital infrastructures. This means creating systems that can exchange information and support a general ecosystem of Open Access science. Click here to learn about the importance of interoperability.
• Ensure proper management of the research data that are generated, in accordance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
• Implement open and free access by default to scientific publications and results financed directly or indirectly with public funds for all citizens.
• Establish new research evaluation mechanisms and a system of incentives aimed at promoting open science principles.

In short, the act aims to make Open Access the default for scientific publishing, using its budget to support a sustainable transition.

Spain’s Open Access statistics

Spain’s share of Open Access publications has grown rapidly. According to InCites data (Clarivate) extracted in September 2026:

Figure 1: Percentage share of Open Access documents vs non-Open Access documents in Spain from 2010 to 2025; data extracted from InCites in September 2026.

Growth has been steady for the share of Open Access publications in Spain from 2010 onwards, reaching almost 80% of published research being openly available as of 2025.

This demonstrates the success of the mandate introduced in 2011 that was updated in 2022, as well as the robust infrastructure which enables this policy to be adhered to.

It is worth noting that the uptake of gold Open Access remains high too. Despite the national mandate revolving around green Open Access, research is largely available through Open Access journals. This importantly showcases the strong Open Access culture that is prevalent in Spain.

Future trends

Spain’s open science strategy demonstrates the country’s alignment with the EU in establishing a research model based on the open publication of research results and data.

The country’s open science strategy runs from 2023 to 2027; however, this date range applies to the annual budget of €23.8 million, meaning that the strategy may be updated to receive a higher budget in its next phase.

It’s likely that Spain’s strategy will keep utilising its robust infrastructure to continue increasing its share of openly available publications and further leverage it to increase access to data, software, and more, in line with the 2022 policy.

Moreover, the open science strategy’s fourth aim is to establish new research evaluation mechanisms and a system of incentives and recognition that promotes open science initiatives. This is in line with Plan S’s aim to ensure responsible research assessment and evaluation.

Therefore, we can expect further development of the research evaluation mechanisms and broader open science infrastructure, alongside continued success in maintaining its high share of Open Access research outputs.

A global leader in Open Access publishing

For more than 30 years, MDPI has been built on the conviction that scientific knowledge should be shared immediately and freely with everyone.

Read what authors from Spanish institutions who have published in MDPI journals have to say about Open Access:

“MDPI boasts an excellent team of academic professionals who are highly skilled and dedicated to meeting the needs of authors.” – Prof. Dr. Ignacio Diaz-Cano, University of Cádiz, author published in Applied Sciences.

“MDPI provides an efficient and professional environment that significantly enhances the visibility and quality of scientific work.” – Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier Povedano Montero, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, author published in JCM.

“MDPI offers a fast, transparent, and well-organized publishing process with helpful editorial support and high-quality peer review.” – Dr. Javier Cañas, Universidad Internacional de Valencia, author published in Languages.

MDPI gives readers free and unlimited access to the full text of all published articles. It has more than 500 journals dedicated to providing the latest findings, many of which publish interdisciplinary research. If you are interested in submitting your work, see the full list of journals here.

Alternatively, if you want to publish an early version of your article, try Preprints.org, MDPI’s service for publishing early versions of research that are not peer reviewed and report on either ongoing or complete research.

Understanding Open Access policies

Navigating policies can be time-consuming and detract from time spent researching. However, understanding them is important as there may be penalties for not complying with publication requirements.

To support researchers, the MDPI Blog publishes a series of articles outlining different countries’ relationships with OA, exploring their histories, current policies, opportunities, and statistics. All this information is centralised into an article which contains brief summaries of each country, with links to all the full articles, and is updated monthly.

Click here if you would also like to learn more about Open Access around the world.

This article was last updated in September 2026.