National Academies Press

What National Academies Press does

National Academies Press (NAP) is the publishing division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), a congressionally chartered nonprofit headquartered in Washington, DC. Founded in 1970 alongside the National Academy of Medicine, NAP disseminates peer-reviewed consensus study reports, workshop proceedings, rapid expert consultations, and issue papers produced by expert committees convened under the National Academies' charter. Its catalog exceeds 15,394 titles spanning transportation, health and medicine, environment and biology, information technology, space/security, and other policy-relevant topics, with distribution handled through nap.nationalacademies.org and a longstanding partnership with the Transportation Research Board.

The platform operates a freemium distribution model: thousands of publications are available as free PDF downloads, while printed copies and premium digital content are sold à la carte through the website storefront. Registered users (MyAcademies accounts, rebranded from MyNAP in 2024) receive access to thousands of free titles plus a 10% purchase discount, and can curate a personal library and subscribe to email alerts. GTM is direct-to-consumer, supported by content marketing through topic landing pages, email/newsletter subscriptions, and events such as workshops and the "Revolutions in Science" series. Marketing reach is global in principle but anchored to U.S. policy and research demand.

NAP is nonprofit and self-sustaining, funded through publication sales, sponsorships, and grants, with no government funding and no external institutional investors. It sits within the parent NASEM organizational structure that includes divisions covering engineering and physical sciences, earth and life studies, behavioral and social sciences and education, health and medicine, policy and global affairs, and several research centers and programs. Operations are guided by the parent academies' mission to provide independent, objective advice to advance science, engineering, and medicine for the benefit of society, which functions as both an authoritative brand asset and a structural constraint on commercial positioning.

Name

National Academies Press

Legal name

National Academies Press

Website

https://nap.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

National Academies Press is the congressionally chartered publishing arm of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, disseminating over 15,000 peer-reviewed consensus reports, proceedings, and expert publications to policymakers, researchers, and professionals worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic & Scientific Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Book Publishers (513130), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Scientific publishing
• Consensus study reports
• Peer-reviewed publications
• Academic book publishing
• Expert committee reports

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Publication Sales: Revenue generated from selling printed and digital copies of consensus study reports, proceedings, and other expert publications. Registered users with MyAcademies accounts receive a 10% discount on purchases.
2. Free PDF Distribution: Thousands of publications available as free PDF downloads to drive engagement and accessibility, supporting the National Academies' mission of advancing science, engineering, and medicine.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

National Academies Press publishes authoritative peer-reviewed consensus study reports, workshop proceedings, rapid expert consultations, and issue papers produced by committees of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Publications are sold in print and digital formats through its own website and offered as free PDF downloads, covering 14 major topic areas including transportation, health and medicine, environment, information technology, and space/security.

Product overview

National Academies Press (NAP) operates as a publishing platform for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, offering a catalog of over 15,000 peer-reviewed publications. The core portfolio consists of Consensus Study Reports presenting expert committee recommendations, Proceedings documenting workshops, Workshop-in Brief summaries, Rapid Expert Consultations for time-sensitive policy questions, Issue Papers, NAM Special Publications, and Annual Reports. NAP also distributes Transportation Research Board Reports as part of its catalog. The platform provides a Personal Library feature for registered users (MyAcademies accounts) to save publications and manage downloads. Publications span diverse topics including transportation, artificial intelligence, health and medicine, environmental science, space and security, and engineering. Content is discoverable through topic filtering, search functionality, and sorting by date, with approximately 856 pages of publications available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consensus Study Reports Peer-reviewed consensus reports presenting evidence-based recommendations from expert committees of the National Academies on scientific, engineering, medical, and policy topics.
• Proceedings of Workshops and Convening Activities Documentation of workshops and convening activities hosted by the National Academies, capturing discussions and presentations from expert gatherings.
• Workshop-in Brief Concise summaries of workshop discussions and key findings, providing timely dissemination of expert insights on emerging topics.
• Rapid Expert Consultations Expedited expert advice on time-sensitive policy questions, providing rapid turnaround of authoritative guidance.
• Issue Papers Analytical papers examining specific scientific, engineering, or medical issues with expert perspective and context.
• NAM Special Publications Specialized publications from the National Academy of Medicine addressing health, medicine, and biomedical science topics.
• Annual Reports Annual reports from the National Academies documenting organizational activities, achievements, and financial information.
• Transportation Research Board Reports Publications from the Transportation Research Board covering transportation research, safety, infrastructure, and planning topics, distributed through the NAP platform.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Transportation Research BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Academies Press maintains a partnership with the Transportation Research Board (TRB) to distribute TRB publications and reports through the NAP platform. This includes TRB's Cooperative Research Programs publications, the Transportation Research Record journal, and TR News periodical.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wiley: Major commercial publisher of academic and scholarly books, peer-reviewed journals, and reference works across scientific, medical, and engineering disciplines. Comparable to NAP's catalog of consensus reports and proceedings, particularly in STEM and applied research.
• Elsevier: Global publisher of peer-reviewed scientific, technical, and medical journals and books. Directly comparable to NAP in serving the same institutional research and policy audiences, though at much larger commercial scale.
• Cambridge University Press: University press producing academic journals, books, and reference content across science, engineering, and medicine. Comparable to NAP's scholarly publishing scope and institutional credibility.
• Oxford University Press: University press publishing peer-reviewed academic journals, scholarly monographs, and reference works across sciences, humanities, and medicine. Closely comparable to NAP in scholarly authority and book-led publishing model.
• MIT Press: University press publishing scholarly books and journals across science, technology, and policy. Comparable to NAP in its academic authority and shift toward digital-first publishing of expert content.
• Springer Nature: One of the largest academic and scholarly publishers globally, producing peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference proceedings across science, engineering, and medicine. Directly comparable to NAP in producing authoritative research outputs, though as a large commercial publisher.

Others

• National Academies Press (consortium peers) — e.g., The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine governance: National scientific academies in other countries (e.g., UK Royal Society, French Académie des Sciences) that publish peer-reviewed proceedings and advisory reports. Comparable in operating model to NAP as a national-academy-affiliated scholarly publisher.

Emerging players

• Annual Reviews: Nonprofit publisher of authoritative scientific review journals across sciences. Comparable to NAP in nonprofit scholarly publishing and in producing synthesis content that policymakers and researchers cite.
• KoreaMed / Korean Academy of Medical Sciences: Scholarly society publishing platform that aggregates peer-reviewed medical journals from a national academy analogous to NAM. Comparable to NAP's role as the publishing arm of an authoritative scientific society.

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Nonprofit policy research organization producing authoritative research reports for federal and institutional clients. Comparable to NAP in mission-driven, high-authority research publishing aimed at policymakers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/thenationalacademies
• Facebookfacebook.com/nationalacademies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2213540
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalacademies
• Xx.com/theNASEM

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Academies Press