From 2026 onwards, Germany will participate in the open access publishing platform Open Research Europe (ORE). This will give all researchers at German institutions the option of publishing their research results in open access free of charge. Submissions are expected to be possible from autumn 2026. As a country-level member, the DFG enables all researchers working at German institutions to submit contributions in future, regardless of project funding. 

Until now, the platform was funded exclusively by the European Commission and was available only to those in receipt of funding under the European Framework Programmes for Research. From 2026 onwards, governance of the platform will be taken over by research and funding organisations and science ministries based in eleven European countries. The platform will also undergo technical modification and its publishing processes will be subject to continuous improvement driven by the research community. Technical implementation will be carried out by CERN, which, together with OPERAS and the participating organisations, will also support communication and outreach activities. The new governance structure is to foster a sustainable and independent culture of publishing aligned with the needs of the research community.

The agreements governing Germany’s participation were signed by the BMFTR, which has tasked the DFG with implementing the initiative – including participation in ORE bodies – for an initial period of five years.

Further Information

• Vision for the future of ORE(externer Link)
• Operationalising Open Research Europe as a collective publishing enterprise(externer Link)
• Statement of Intent(externer Link)
• Press release(interner Link)
• Information for Researchers(interner Link)
• Open Research Europe web page(externer Link)
• Current platform(externer Link)