STM publisher Elsevier is reportedly teaming up with several African organisations to launch an open access journal for African research. The journal, expected to be launched in 2016, is meant to spread the word about excellent African science.
According to Marc Chahin, Elsevier's executive publisher for the Middle East and Africa, this 'mega-journal' would be free for readers, with authors and their organisations paying for article publication — the so-called 'gold standard' model of open access publishing.
The other partners in the group are the African Centre for Technology Studies, African Academy of Sciences, IBM Research-Africa and South African Medical Research Council. According to the partners, the project is still in initial stages and they are expecting more organisations to join the initiative. However, it is anticipated that the journal will launch in 2016 and to publish its first papers in 2017.
Susan Murray, the executive director of African Journals OnLine (AJOL), an aggregator of research papers from Africa, says the journal could make African science more visible and assist researchers from the continent find local partners.
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