Cambridge University Press has announced that it will waive open access fees for authors from 107 low- and middle-income countries to publish their research in over 400 Cambridge journals. This move aims to help overcome financial barriers to publishing open access research in countries where research funding is scarce. The initiative, called the Cambridge Open Equity Initiative, will begin on July 1, 2023. This initiative enables scholars to reach the widest possible audience by making open access a free option for them. Cambridge University Press is seeking support from institutional partners to make the initiative sustainable. Institutional customers will join Cambridge University Press in making voluntary contributions to the initiative to support authors in lower income countries.
Under the current system, without fee waivers, Article Processing Charges for gold open access publications are typically around £2,000 or $3,000, varying by journal. Authors at institutions with ‘transformative agreements’ – primarily in high income countries – can avoid such charges. However, for scholars in low- and middle-income countries, these fees can be a significant barrier to publishing their research.
The initiative will automatically recognize eligibility of corresponding authors when a paper is accepted. Cambridge will also remove fees for independent scholars from those low- and middle-income countries, using a simple form. The fund will be a publisher-library collaboration, recognising the role multiple stakeholders are playing in the open access transformation.
The Cambridge Open Equity Initiative aims to accelerate the transition to open access, particularly for scholars outside of high income countries. This initiative will enable the rich practical lessons from the Global South to be shared with the global scientific community.
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