The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has announced increased financial support for the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) for the 2027–2029 period. The funding is intended to reinforce DOAJ’s role as a core open scholarly infrastructure and to expand its support for Diamond open access journals in the Netherlands. It will also enable closer collaboration with the Dutch Diamond Open Access Expertise Centre, which serves as a national hub for training, infrastructure development, and community building around Diamond open access publishing.
NWO has been a long‑standing supporter of DOAJ and an advocate for equitable and sustainable approaches to scholarly publishing. Jeroen Sondervan, Program Leader for Open Scholarly Communication at NWO, emphasized that the organization is committed to achieving full open access in line with national policy objectives. He noted that DOAJ plays an essential role in enhancing the visibility and credibility of peer‑reviewed open access journals, including Diamond journals, by setting standards for transparency and best practices. Sondervan highlighted that continued support from the academic community is vital to sustain and further develop DOAJ’s services as an open infrastructure.
Joanna Ball, Managing Director of DOAJ, expressed that the strengthened collaboration with NWO reflects a shared commitment to sustainable infrastructure for community‑led publishing. She indicated that NWO’s continued investment would help advance a more equitable and transparent scholarly communication system and that DOAJ looks forward to building a closer relationship over the next three years.
DOAJ stated that it will continue working with NWO, the national Expertise Centre, and partners across the Netherlands to enhance the visibility, quality, and sustainability of Diamond open access journals. The initiative is expected to support a diverse and community‑driven publishing landscape.
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