Poland has a robust open science infrastructure that enables researchers to easily access or share research results. Despite the National Science Centre relaxing its Open Access requirements, the open science culture remains widespread and is likely to continue thriving.

We outline Poland’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. Given that 85% of the world’s population live in low- and 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 engage with 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 means your research can receive the backing it needs.

History of Open Access in Poland

Poland’s open science community is centred around two leading institutions, the National Science Centre (NCN) and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM).

Here is a brief history of Open Access in Poland:

• 2008: Members of the European University Association and the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland issue their Recommendations on Open Access.
• 2014: ICM publish ‘Open Science in 2014: A Diagnosis’, surveying academic views of Open Access.
• 2018: NCN signs Plan S and becomes a member of the European Open Access initiative cOAlition S, as well as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
• 2020: NCN mandate that all research results must be made available in full and immediate Open Access, in line with Plan S.
• 2024: NCN review their alignment with Plan S requirements.
• 2025: NCN relax their requirements for Open Access, instead recommending Green Open Access where manuscripts can be deposited in recognised open repositories.

The 2014 report published by ICM highlighted that positive views about the impact of Open Access were widespread in Poland’s research community, specifically relating to visibility and increased citations.

Current Open Access laws in Poland

The National Science Centre (NCN) is a government agency, supervised by the Ministry of Education and Science, that was set up in 2011 to support basic research in Poland. It funds research projects and open science practices. From 2011 to 2025, it funded more than 34,000 projects.

In 2018, it signed Plan S and then, in 2020, it introduced a policy in alignment with the European initiative mandating immediate Open Access. In 2024, the NCN reviewed its stance on cOAlition S and in the following year introduced a policy which diverges from Plan S requirements.

The current NCN requirements are as follows:

The NCN shall recommend Green Open Access as the preferred model for sharing scientific publications, where manuscripts versions can be deposited in recognised open repositories.

Closed access publishing is permitted for funded research, even if the research is not then shared in an open repository. However, the policy deliberately uses the word ‘encouraged’, which reflects the NCN’s decision to embrace flexibility and trust that the open science culture in Poland will remain strong even without a mandate.

Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, NCN Director explains:

The most important change has already happened: awareness of the importance of open access is now widespread within the Polish academic community. Publishing in open access increases researchers’ visibility and remains our priority.

The data reflect this claim, as 73% of articles, reviews, and conference papers from Poland were published in a Gold Open Access format in 2025, according to Scopus data.

Data stemming from research funded by the NCN must be well documented and adhere to FAIR principles, which you can learn about here. Such data must be shared in open repositories under either CC0 or CC BY 4.0 licensing, regardless of whether it is open or closed access.

ICM infrastructure

Part of the University of Warsaw, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM) is actively involved in open science. Its main activities include developing infrastructure, providing training and consultancy, and promoting open practices.

Below is an outline of the various infrastructure that ICM develop and host, all centred around their Open Science Platform initiative.

Library of Science (Biblioteka Nauki)

The Library of Science is a platform providing Open Access to academic articles and scholarly books published in Poland. It is the largest scientific collection in Poland, featuring more than 645,000 articles, 1790 journals, and 2960 books, as of October 2026.

OPEN Repository

The OPEN Repository, previously known as the CeON Repository, enables Polish researchers from any field to openly share their articles, books, conference materials, reports, doctoral theses, and more. The platform currently provides access to more than 25,000 archived items.

CeON Aggregator

The CeON Aggregator is a unified point of access for resources hosted in the Polish open repositories that are maintained by scientific institutions.

The aggregator provides access to more than 410,000 publications from across 24 repositories.

RepOD

RepOD is the first Polish repository of open research data. The platform allows researchers from across disciplines to share any data produced, collected, or described during research activities.

Horizon Europe

Despite moving away from Plan S, Poland remains 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 focus is on tackling climate change, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and boosting growth.

In 2026, Poland arranged to transfer €30 million of regional funds to boost Horizon Europe participation. This funding is allocated to applicants who receive positive evaluations but would not normally receive funding due to budgetary constraints.

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

Poland’s Open Access statistics

Poland’s share of Open Access publications has grown steadily since 2010. According to InCites data (Clarivate, Figure 1) extracted in September 2026:

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

In 2025, 80% of publications in Poland were Open Access. This is above the global average and demonstrates strong awareness about open practices as well as their benefits, especially given the sharp growth that occurred before the NCN policy.

How the respective shares of open and closed access research documents change following NCN relaxing requirements for Open Access in the coming years remains to be seen.

Future trends

Regarding the 2025 policy update, the NCN states:

Although OA publishing is no longer mandatory, NCN continues to recommend this model to enhance the visibility and accessibility of research results, to allow broader use of publicly funded knowledge, and to fulfil the social mission of science.

The NCN’s approach recognises that the open publishing of research results is now standard practice. However, for funded research, this remains a recommendation rather than a requirement.

Given the high share of Open Access publications and its rapid growth before the original NCN policy was introduced, it is likely that open science practices will remain popular in Poland, especially with the robust infrastructure included in the ICM’s Open Science Platform providing widespread and easy access to diverse 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 Polish institutions who have published in MDPI journals have to say about Open Access:

“MDPI’s professional editors show a high level of care for the shape of published articles to make them readable and understandable to a wide range of the journal’s readers.” – Prof. Boguslaw Pisarek, Lodz University of Technology, Author published in Materials.

“I appreciate the speed of the publication process, the constructive reviews, and the high Impact Factors of MDPI journals.” – Prof. Dr. Marcin Molski, Adam Mickiewicz University, Author published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

“I value MDPI for its selection of competent reviewers, timely editorial workflows, and strong commitment to high publishing standards.” – Prof. Barbara Adamik, Wroclaw Medical University, Author published in Journal of Clinical Medicine.

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 October 2026.