What Is Diamond Open Access?

Diamond Open Access (DOA) is an approach to scholarly publishing that seeks to align the publication system with two key principles:

1. Autonomy: The selection and further development of publication formats, genres, processes, structures and technologies etc. are controlled by the research community or aligned with its interests and needs.
2. Equity and diversity: Researchers have equal opportunities to access the publication system.  

The principles of Diamond Open Access can be embodied by Gold Open Access publications, publications following the Green Open Access route and all other open access publishing models(interner Link). Diamond Open Access therefore cuts across the conventional classifications of open access publishing.

Strategies for implementing the diamond approach generally involve business and funding models that do not charge publication fees to authors. Instead, funding is provided through various contribution models, but it frequently comes from institutional budgets and project funding. In principle, however, fee-based models could also be used in accordance with the DOA principles. DOA publishing infrastructures are generally operated by publicly funded or non-profit research institutions. Sponsoring institutions may include universities, other higher education institutions, foundations, non-university research institutions, academies, archives, funding organisations and scholarly societies. Intellectual property rights in Diamond Open Access publication media – such as the title rights to a journal – are held by the research community (“scholarly ownership”).  

Diamond Open Access is highly important to a scholarly publishing system characterised by diversity, a plurality of perspectives, responsiveness to needs and a commitment to quality. Publishing services aligned with the principles of DOA enable communication to be oriented towards specific target audiences, and providing they have sufficient financial capacity, they are generally able to respond flexibly and innovatively when it comes to adapting to the requirements of digital scientific communication due to their independence from the interests and framework conditions that apply in the commercial sphere.

DFG Activities

The DFG works at various levels to implement the principles of Diamond Open Access in scholarly publishing.

Funding Activities

• Funding programme “Infrastructures for Scholarly Publishing”:(interner Link)
• Call for proposals: “Fresh Momentum for Diamond Open Access”(interner Link)

Strategic Positioning

• Position paper “Academic Publishing as a Foundation and Area of Leverage for Research Assessment” (2022)(interner Link)
• Position paper “Open Science as Part of Research Culture" (2022 - in German only)(externer Link)

Research Policy Activities

• Science Europe(externer Link)
• Alliance’s focus area “Digitality in Science”(externer Link)
• Statement of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) on European Council Conclusions on “High-quality, transparent, open, trustworthy and equitable scholarly publishing” (2023)(Download)
• Support for the Action Plan for DOA(interner Link)
• Financial support for the European publishing platform “Open Research Europe”(externer Link)
   

Service Centre for Diamond Open Access

Under its call for proposals “Fresh Momentum for Diamond Open Access(interner Link)”, the DFG is funding the establishment and further development of a national Service Centre for Diamond Open Access (SeDOA)(externer Link). The aim is to enhance the capabilities of DOA infrastructures operated in Germany. The Service Centre is operated by a consortium of 15 institutions. The project initially receives funding for three years.