Faculty of 1000

F1000, originally known as Faculty of 1000, is an open research publishing business serving scientists, scholars, and clinical researchers. It was founded in London in 2000 by publishing entrepreneur Vitek Tracz. The original name referred to a review community of approximately 1,000 invited experts; the network later grew to more than 8,000 members. The organization initially concentrated on biology and subsequently broadened its subject coverage, including a stronger medical and clinical research focus from 2006 onward. F1000’s publishing model differs from the conventional academic-journal process in which anonymous peer review is normally completed before an article is accepted for publication. Under the F1000 approach, a submitted article and its underlying data undergo an initial editorial and technical check, after which the work can be published rapidly, often within a few weeks. Expert review then takes place publicly on the platform and can continue after publication. Reviewers are identified and disclose relevant interests, creating a model of open, post-publication assessment rather than a closed, double-blind process. Article records can indicate whether work has passed the platform’s review criteria, allowing readers to distinguish between newly published and approved material. The business has also supported research platforms developed for institutional and public-sector partners. These include Gates Open Research for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Open Research Europe for the European Commission. Such services extend F1000’s role beyond publishing its own branded content to providing the infrastructure and operational expertise for funder- or institution-backed open-access publishing programs. In addition to conventional research articles, the platform has supported collections and other forms of scholarly communication, including presentations and related research outputs. F1000 was formerly part of the Science Navigation Group. In January 2020, Taylor & Francis Group acquired F1000 and F1000Research, while associated services were separated from the transaction. F1000Prime, later called Faculty Opinions, and F1000 Workspace, later called Sciwheel, remained with founder Vitek Tracz at that point. Faculty Opinions was subsequently acquired by H1 in February 2022, while Sciwheel was acquired by SAGE Publishing later in 2022. As a result, the F1000 business now primarily refers to the open research publishing operation and related publishing infrastructure, rather than the former recommendation and reference-management products. The brand’s positioning is based on speed, openness, data availability, and transparency in scholarly evaluation. It is designed for researchers and organizations seeking an alternative to the slower, pre-publication gatekeeping model of traditional journals. Its approach does not remove editorial or review controls; instead, it moves much of the assessment process into a visible, ongoing phase after publication. F1000 therefore occupies a distinctive position within academic publishing, combining open-access dissemination with openly attributed peer review and funder-supported publishing services.

Faculty of 1000 was established in London in 2000 by Vitek Tracz, a publishing entrepreneur. Its founding concept was to create a curated expert network that could help researchers identify important scientific work. The name Faculty of 1000 referred initially to an invited group of roughly 1,000 reviewers and evaluators. As the service expanded, its expert community grew to more than 8,000 members, making the original numerical name a historical reference rather than a description of its later scale. The organization initially focused on biology. In 2002 it introduced F1000Prime, a recommendation service in which subject experts selected research articles they considered significant or noteworthy. Experts provided commentary explaining the importance of the selected work and connected the recommendation to the original publication. This created an alternative discovery and highlighting system to raw citation counts and other conventional impact indicators. F1000Prime was later renamed Faculty Opinions. F1000 broadened its subject coverage over time. Medicine became a particular area of emphasis beginning in 2006, and the business developed services for a wider range of scientific, scholarly, and clinical research communities. It also developed F1000Research, an open research publishing platform based on rapid publication followed by transparent peer review. Authors submit articles together with their supporting data. Following an initial editorial and technical check, the article may be published before formal expert review is complete. Reviewers then assess the work publicly, under their own names and with declarations of relevant interests. Review can remain an ongoing part of the article record, and readers can identify whether an article has met the platform’s review requirements. This approach placed F1000 within the open-access and open-peer-review movements. Rather than treating peer review as an entirely private process that must precede publication, F1000 made publication and subsequent evaluation parts of a visible research record. The platform has published research articles as well as collections and other scholarly materials, including presentations. It has also supplied technical and publishing support for partner platforms. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation used F1000 technology and services for Gates Open Research, while the European Commission used the model for Open Research Europe. F1000 operated within the Science Navigation Group before its acquisition by Taylor & Francis Group in January 2020. The transaction brought F1000 and F1000Research into Taylor & Francis. The deal did not transfer every service historically associated with the F1000 name. Founder Vitek Tracz retained Faculty Opinions, formerly F1000Prime, and F1000 Workspace. Faculty Opinions was later acquired by H1 in February 2022. F1000 Workspace, which became Sciwheel, was subsequently acquired by SAGE Publishing in 2022. Following these ownership changes, the F1000 name primarily denotes the open research publishing operation. The former expert-recommendation service is no longer the central business, and its historical evaluations have been treated as archived following the move to H1. Sciwheel likewise became a separate SAGE business. F1000’s current identity is therefore tied to open publishing, research-platform development, rapid dissemination, and transparent post-publication assessment under Taylor & Francis ownership.

1. 2022Former associated services change ownership

   H1 acquires Faculty Opinions and SAGE Publishing acquires Sciwheel, separating both services from the F1000 publishing business.

   Source
2. 2020Taylor & Francis acquires F1000

   Taylor & Francis Group acquires F1000 and F1000Research, while selected associated services remain with the founder.

   Source
3. 2006Medical research becomes a major focus

   F1000 expands its scope with a stronger emphasis on medicine and clinical research.

   Source
4. 2002F1000Prime launches

   The organization introduces F1000Prime, a service in which experts recommend and explain important scientific articles.

   Source
5. 2000Faculty of 1000 is founded

   Vitek Tracz establishes Faculty of 1000 in London as an expert-led scientific information and evaluation service.

   Source

An open research publisher emphasizing rapid dissemination, public and attributable post-publication peer review, underlying-data availability, and publishing infrastructure for research funders.

• F1000ResearchOpen research publishing platform

  F1000Research is the core open research publishing platform associated with F1000. It enables rapid publication after an initial editorial and technical check, followed by named, public peer review that can continue after publication. Authors provide the article’s supporting data, and the platform presents review status as part of the publication record. The model is intended to increase speed, transparency, and reproducibility in scientific and clinical communication.

• Gates Open ResearchFunder-backed open research platform

  Gates Open Research is a research publishing platform developed with F1000 services for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It applies the open research approach to funder-supported work, including rapid publication and transparent post-publication review. The platform illustrates F1000’s role as a technology and publishing partner rather than only a publisher operating under its own brand.

• Open Research EuropeInstitutional open research platform

  Open Research Europe is the European Commission’s open-access publishing platform, developed and supported using F1000’s publishing infrastructure and expertise. It provides a venue for research outputs connected with European Union funding and uses an open, post-publication review model intended to make assessment visible to readers.

• Faculty OpinionsExpert research recommendation service2002

  Faculty Opinions was formerly F1000Prime, the expert recommendation service created by F1000 in 2002. Its invited specialists selected primary research papers they considered important or interesting, wrote short assessments of their significance, and linked to the original publications. The service was separated from F1000 after the 2020 Taylor & Francis acquisition and was later acquired by H1. New recommendations are no longer the central active service, with earlier evaluations treated as archived.

• SciwheelReference-management and research workspace

  Sciwheel was formerly known as F1000 Workspace and provided reference management, research organization, and article-recommendation functions linked to a user’s research library. It remained outside the Taylor & Francis acquisition of F1000 and was later acquired by SAGE Publishing in 2022. It is therefore a former associated F1000 service rather than a current core F1000 product.

• 2022Separate the former recommendation and workspace services from F1000Strategy

  After the 2020 acquisition, the F1000 name covered a publishing business distinct from Faculty Opinions and F1000 Workspace.

  What changed. Faculty Opinions was acquired by H1, and F1000 Workspace, renamed Sciwheel, was acquired by SAGE Publishing.

  Aftermath. F1000’s business scope became concentrated on open research publishing and related publishing infrastructure.

  Source
• 2020Sell the core F1000 publishing business to Taylor & FrancisM&A

  F1000 operated as part of the Science Navigation Group and comprised both publishing services and associated recommendation and research-workspace products.

  What changed. Taylor & Francis Group acquired F1000 and F1000Research, while Faculty Opinions and F1000 Workspace remained with founder Vitek Tracz.

  Aftermath. F1000 continued as a Taylor & Francis-owned open research publisher, while its former recommendation and workspace businesses subsequently moved to H1 and SAGE Publishing.

  Source

• 2022H1 acquires Faculty Opinions

  H1 acquired Faculty Opinions, the service formerly known as F1000Prime and previously associated with F1000’s expert recommendations.

  M&A
  Source
• 2022SAGE acquires Sciwheel

  SAGE Publishing acquired Sciwheel, the reference-management and research-workspace business formerly known as F1000 Workspace.

  M&A
  Source
• 2020Taylor & Francis acquires F1000

  Taylor & Francis Group acquired F1000 and F1000Research. The transaction left the open research publishing operation with Taylor & Francis while Faculty Opinions and F1000 Workspace remained outside the acquired business.

  M&A
  Source

1. F1000 (publisher)