Free open access publishing opportunity for all researchers in Germany

Supported by research organisations and research funding organisations in eleven European countries, the open access publishing platform Open Research Europe (ORE)(externer Link) is now open for submissions at a new address. All researchers at German institutions can publish on the platform free of charge, regardless of whether they receive project funding. This is made possible by Germany’s participation as a country-level member. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is the contracting partner on the German side, while the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) implements the initiative at national level in its capacity as the self-governing organisation for research in Germany.

The platform accepts submissions from all scientific disciplines. In addition to conventional research articles, numerous other publication formats can be submitted, including registered reports, case studies, data notes and essays. In this way, ORE accommodates different publishing cultures and the specific requirements of individual disciplines.

ORE follows the Publish, Review, Curate model: once they have passed pre-publication integrity checks, submitted articles are published, assessed through an open peer review process and, following positive reviews, included in disciplinary collections. Through this process, ORE aims to make research findings available more quickly, make quality assurance transparent and increase the visibility of peer review as a research contribution in its own right. 

“Through ORE, we’re supporting an open research and publishing culture that focuses on quality, transparency and dialogue within the research community. At the same time, we’re strengthening the research community’s capacity to develop essential infrastructure for its own work collectively and independently,” said DFG Secretary General Dr. Heide Ahrens at the launch of the platform under its new governance structure.

ORE’s restructuring is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board, which began its work with a new membership in October this year. The German members of this body are DFG Vice President Professor Dr. Caren Sureth-Sloane (Paderborn University, Business Administration), Professor Dr. Markus Huff (University of Tübingen, Applied Cognitive Psychology / Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien) and Amelya Keles Slevogt (Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Experimental Neurology / German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Berlin). 

Launched by the European Commission in 2021, Open Research Europe was previously only open to those in receipt of funding under EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation, such as Horizon Europe. Since 2026, the platform has been supported by a consortium of 17 research organisations and research funding organisations in eleven European countries and is now available free of charge to researchers in all the participating countries. CERN is responsible for the technical operation of the platform.

Further Information 

The platform is now open for submissions and can be accessed at https://ore.eu(externer Link). 

CERN is offering a webinar(externer Link) for authors on 1 December to provide further information.

Further information on Open Research Europe and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the DFG website under Open Research Europe(interner Link).