Funding Round for Open Access in Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science underway

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The funding call for seven journals in quantum physics, mathematics and computer science, which was running from 1 June to 1 July 2023, has been extended to 1 September 2023.

Libraries, research institutions, foundations, companies and individuals can make a financial contribution to ensure that these journals can exist sustainably as open access journals – without author-facing publishing fees.

The problem with APCs

There are good reasons for publishing in open access. However, many journals use Article Processing Charges (APCs), to finance their expenditures. These APCs are charged to individual authors, but not all authors can afford them: for example because they do not work at universities or because their institution does not have the financial resources. Some authors are thus excluded from participating in academic debate.

The solution: Open Access without APCs

The solution is to finance Open Access without charging individual authors, as the European Council called for in its recently published conclusions. After all, even non-commercial publishing initiatives with a great deal of voluntary commitment incurs costs: for electricity and hardware for the journal servers, for installation of software updates, for the layout of articles, for registering DOIs, or for travel expenses to editorial meetings of board members – to name just some.

KOALA is a German Acronym, translating to “Building Consortial Open Access Solutions“. Instead of passing on the costs of a journal to readers (via subscriptions) or to authors (via APCs), the costs are distributed over many shoulders: in consortia. Editorial boards name their financial need for the sustainable operation of their journal. Supporters contribute their share, depending on size and type of the institution. The consortium leader – in this case the German National Library of Science and Technology – organizes the matching between journal and supporters and arranges the invoicing.

KOALA-Offers 2024-2026

For the funding phase 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026, the following journals or journal bundles are included. All journals in this round are run by non-profit associations or foundations, independently of publishing houses. All journals are in the hands of the academic community itself and meet quality standards.

KOALA Mathematik und Informatik 2024-2026

Together, these journals publish c. 330 articles per year.

KOALA Quantum 2024-2026

Quantum publishes c. 220 articles per year.

Become a KOALA supporter!

Information about pricing and participation in the KOALA consortium can be found on the KOALA website. If enough supporters pledge for funding, the journals will receive funding from the KOALA consortium for three years. Before the end of the 3-year period, another pledging round will seek to fund the journals for another three years. If there are not enough supporters, funding via KOALA will not materialize.

Editorial boards interested in KOALA:

The bundles for the current pledging phase are final. However, preparations for the next funding round (1 January 2025 to 31 December 2027) are already underway. Interested board members of journals and book series are welcome to contact koala@tib.eu. In order to be eligible for funding by KOALA consortia, journals or book series must provide immediate access to the version of record and not charge publication fees. In addition, KOALA requires that a number of formal and technical standards be met. Editorial board members receive support in implementing these standards.

Further information can be found on the website.

Sarah Dellmann

... hat die stellvertretende Leitung des Bereichs Publikationsdienste