Intro:
Many authors who wish to make their articles open access have been thwarted by high Article Processing Charges (APCs). (Note: If you are not familiar with open access, please read an introduction on my other blog.) While publishers of gold open access journals often provide waivers and/or discounts for APCs, this is not the case for hybrid journals.
Readers will be happy to learn, then, that EIFL, an NGO that works with libraries in developing and transition economy countries around the world, has taken on the challenging task of negotiating agreements with various publishers to provide waivers for or significant discounts on APCs for both gold and hybrid open access journals. This page provides more information about the specific agreements currently in place, the journals they cover, and details about the terms and conditions.
How to take advantage of these agreements:
Step one: Since the agreements only apply to corresponding authors based in certain eligible countries, confirm that your country is among those listed:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Botswana, China, Congo, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Malawi, Maldives, Moldova, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, North Macedonia, Palestine, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Step two: Each negotiated agreement is slightly different in terms of the type of APC it covers (gold OA, hybrid OA, or both); the type of offer available (waiver vs. discount); who it applies to (e.g., all authors based in a specified country; only authors affiliated with specific institutions in a given country; only authors affiliated with institutions that have certain journal subscriptions with publishers, etc.). For this reason, it is important to first visit EIFL's APC page and take a few minutes to briefly review the terms and conditions of each agreement potentially available to you.
Step three: Select your country from the index below to access a spreadsheet* that provides details on all the journals in which you can publish open access. Use it to learn more about the APC offer for each journal, the conditions of that offer, etc. URLs for journal web sites are also listed; visit them to learn more about the journal(s) you think might be most suitable for your draft manuscript.
Step four: After you have selected a journal and completed the manuscript submission process, as a final step, be sure to return to EIFL's APC page. Select the publisher of the journal to which you submitted your article for more information regarding how the waivers and discounts are actually applied.
Example:
Global Responsibility to Protect is a hybrid journal published by Brill. The APC is normally €2150. Under the terms of EIFL's agreement with Brill, the APC is:
- discounted by 50% if the corresponding author is based in: Estonia, Serbia, Slovenia;
- discounted by 60% if the corresponding author is based in: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Fiji, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, North Macedonia, Palestine, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan;
- discounted by 80% if the corresponding author is based in: Botswana, Namibia;
- waived if the corresponding author is based in: Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Malawi, Moldova, Myanmar, Nepal, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The negotiated agreement is in effect until 31 December 2023.
How does the waiver/discount get applied? Brill's agreement page notes that "Authors will be recognized automatically when they select Open Access during the submission process. Their country and affiliation data are used to identify eligibility for the discount, which is then deducted once they are requested to pay the invoice (after the article has been accepted)."
That's it! Please let me know when your open access article is published! And while you are on EIFL's web site, you can learn more about their open access programme and browse through a wide variety of resources relating to open access.
*Note that the spreadsheets were created using Microsoft Excel. If you do not have this application but you do have a Microsoft account, you can open the file via Office Live (you will need to login). Alternatively, if you have a Gmail account, you can open the file using the free Google Sheets application.
[Many thanks to Romy Beard for her feedback on this post!]
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