How it works
Open, transparent, and built for collaboration – UCL Open Environment rethinks the publishing process from the ground up.
We combine the speed and visibility of preprints with the rigour and integrity of open peer review, so you can share your work earlier, build on expert feedback and contribute to a global conversation on environmental research.
Submit your research
Step-by-step publishing process
1. Submit your manuscript
Submit your research – whether a research article, commentary, review, or protocol – via our simple online system. At this stage, we focus on the content, not formatting. Just provide:
- Title, abstract, keywords
- Author details
- Any relevant funding or data links
- Word file (or equivalent file) of your article
Submit your research
2. Editorial assessment and preprint publication
Your submission is first reviewed by an Editor to confirm suitability. If approved:
- Your paper is published as a preprint with an assigned DOI (via Crossref) that can be immediately linked your ORCID and/or researcher profile.
- It is immediately available online under our CC BY licence.
- It is indexed and fully citable.
Preprints are clearly marked as not yet peer-reviewed.
3. Open peer review begins
We use a post-publication, open peer review model via a preprint server:
- Editors invite reviewers
- Reviews are published openly with reviewer names and affiliations
- Each review receives a DOI and is CC BY licensed
- Authors can revise and respond openly at any stage
Reviews can also be linked to reviewer ORCID profiles and are citable via services like Publons and ImpactStory.
4. Editorial decision and revision
After at least two reviews – and often more for multidisciplinary work – the Editor evaluates the feedback.
- Authors may be requested to revise in response to reviewer comments.
- Authors are asked to provide a tracked-changes manuscript and outline how they have responded to comments to help reviewers and readers follow the evolution of the manuscript.
- All versions and comments remain openly available.
5. Acceptance and final publication
Once a manuscript is accepted:
- It’s professionally typeset, copyedited and proofread.
- Published as the Version of Record in UCL Open Environment.
- Fully indexed, with all peer review history openly maintained for full transparency and accountability purposes.
Why choose UCL Open Environment?
- Fast, fair and transparent – publish early with preprints and track every version openly.
- Constructive review – reviewers help improve your work, not just evaluate it.
- Multidisciplinary and inclusive – we welcome a wide range of contributions, from research to policy to practice.
- Free to publish – UCL Open Environment is completely free to publish in. We do not charge APCs – ensuring equitable access for all authors, regardless of funding.
- Global visibility – everything we publish is open access and citable from day one.
Stay supported throughout
Our editorial team is here to help – from formatting and submission, through revisions and final publication. We aim to make publishing equitable, collaborative and impactful for all contributors.