Diamond Open Access publishing in Africa

Related resources

• EIFL’s website: https://www.eifl.net/

Watch the recording

The slides are available at https://africarxiv.ubuntunet.net/handle/1/1632

Speakers’ profiles

Iryna Kuchma has been managing the EIFL Open Access Programme (EIFL-OA) since 2008. Working in collaboration with libraries and library consortia in more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, she advocates for open access to research results, facilitates the development and implementation of open science policies and infrastructures, and provides support and training. Iryna sits on the boards of Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR), the Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS) and the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD). She is an Associate Editor for the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and a member of the DOAJ Council. In 2013, Iryna received the Electronic Publishing Trust (EPT) for Development Annual Award, in recognition of her ‘efforts in the furtherance of open access to scholarly publications in the developing and emerging countries’.

Blessing Chiparausha is University Librarian at Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe. He holds a PhD in Information Science from the University of South Africa. He has published refereed journal articles, book chapters and conference papers on the use of information and communication technologies in academic libraries especially the use of social media, free and open-source software, and related digital applications.

Richard Bruce Lamptey holds PhD (Information Science) from University of South Africa, South Africa, MPhil (Science and Technology  Studies) from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, MA (Information Services Management) from London Metropolitan University, UK and Diploma (Library and Information Studies) from the University of Ghana. He is very passionate about Knowledge sharing and also interested in equity in scholarly communications and research, alternative metrics, grey literature and open access.

Richard is the  Librarian of the College of Science Library and a Deputy Librarian in the KNUST Library System. He is knowledgeable in digital Libraries, Data Curation, Digital Repositories and Information Management as well as Open Access / Open Data issues. Very much results-driven, go-getter, follow transformational leadership principles. He provides advanced training for both Lecturers and Students and supports raising awareness of library resources in KNUST. (Literature Search, Avoiding predatory journal publishing, Digital Literacy, Plagiarism, Institutional Repositories, Open Access and Open Science)

Bruce Lamptey has supported national and institutional open access awareness raising and advocacy workshops that have resulted in a number of open access repositories in the country (which continues to grow). Through his work, the first open access mandate in the country was introduced by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He is the EIFL Coordinator – Ghana.

Milica Ševkušić is a Project Coordinator for the EIFL Open Access Programme and a librarian at the Institute of Technical Sciences of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In the capacity of the EIFL-Open Access Programme Country Coordinator she has been supporting Open Access journals in Serbia since 2014. Her professional interests focus on Open Science, library services aimed at supporting research activities, training in academic services and tools, support to Open Access journals, information literacy and research ethics. 

Ina Smith is an accomplished advocate for open science (including open access publishing) in the global South, with a particular focus on Africa and South Africa. She holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Integrated Education from the University of Pretoria, a Higher Education Teaching Diploma, and an Honours Degree in Library and Information Science. With over 20 years of experience in open access, she has worked at the University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch University, specialising in websites, instructional design, repositories, journal publishing, and conference publishing. The implementation of UPSpace and subsequently SUNScholar and SUNJournals helped pave the way for other higher education institutions to follow suit.

Since 2014, Ina has served as a Planning Manager at the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), where she is involved in a range of impactful projects. Her contributions extend internationally, highlighted by her role as a DOAJ Ambassador for the Southern Africa region and her recent leadership in reviewing the DOAJ Ambassador Programme (2024). Additionally, she spearheaded the African Open Science landscape study from 2016 to 2019 and the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (South Africa) from 2022 to 2023. The African Scientists Directory, developed by her in 2020, is widely acknowledged as a valuable asset to the African science community. She also led the development of the ASSAf Open Science Policy and the ASSAf Science Engagement Strategy during 2023-24, which are currently being implemented. She was instrumental in having the DOAJ included as an accredited list as part of the SA DHET Research Outputs policy. Furthermore, she coordinated the Berlin 10 conference in 2012, hosted by Stellenbosch University, and played a major role in International Data Week 2019, hosted by Botswana.

Together with the impactful work done by others, Ina’s passion for open science has contributed to significant progress on the continent, fostering greater accessibility and collaboration in research. Her outstanding contributions have been recognised with several prestigious awards, including the LIASA President’s Acknowledgement for Exceptional Contribution in 2014, the Runner-Up position in the international EPT Award for Open Access in 2011, and the LIASA Librarian of the Year award in 2016.

Ina is versatile in the innovative application of IT and embraces new technologies such as AI to enhance productivity in day-to-day work.

Questions that were addressed during the session

1. What were some key findings regarding the financial sustainability challenges faced by Diamond OA journals in Africa?

2. Can you elaborate on the types of institutional in-kind support that these journals typically receive, and how effective this support has been in sustaining their operations?

3. Were there any significant differences in the status or success of Diamond OA journals between different African countries, as indicated by the country reports?

4. How do collaborations among Diamond OA journals across Africa contribute to their sustainability, and what examples of successful collaborations were highlighted in the report?

5. What strategies were identified as most promising for advancing the Diamond OA model in Africa, particularly in terms of funding and increasing journal visibility?

6. Given the insights from the report, what are the primary needs of Diamond OA journals in Africa, and how can these needs be addressed by stakeholders such as governments, institutions, or international organizations?

7. How do the platforms hosting Diamond OA journals in Africa compare in terms of their support structures, and what recommendations does the report make for improving these platforms?

Record-Breaking Attendance at AfricArXiv Open Science Webinar on Diamond Open Access Publishing in Africa

This article was originally published at https://ubuntunet.net/library/open-access/…/

The AfricArXiv Open Science Webinar series has reached a new milestone, with 118 researchers and librarians from across the African research and education community gathering to explore the future of Diamond Open Access (OA) publishing in Africa. This record-breaking attendance is a promising sign of the growing interest and engagement in the series, with much more expected in the sessions to come.

The AfricArXiv Open Science Webinar series has reached a new milestone, with 118 researchers and librarians from across the African research and education community gathering to explore the future of Diamond Open Access (OA) publishing in Africa. This record-breaking attendance is a promising sign of the growing interest and engagement in the series, with much more expected in the sessions to come.

The webinar’s focus on Diamond Open Access publishing in Africa drew participants eager to learn from a team of researchers who recently completed a comprehensive landscape study on no-fee open access publishing across the continent. Led by Iryna Kuchma, the team, which included multiple contributors from various African regions, presented their findings based on responses from 199 journals, 21 institutional, national, and continental platforms hosting Diamond OA journals, and 25 country reports. The study delved into the current funding and financial sustainability approaches, institutional in-kind support, incentives, and collaborations among Diamond OA journals, as well as the needs and strategies to advance Diamond OA in Africa.

Conducted as part of a three-year project titled “Collaboration for Sustainable Open Access Publishing in Africa,” implemented by EIFL, AJOL, and WACREN, the study uncovered several key insights into the state of OA publishing on the continent. Notably, it was revealed that most journals in Africa are relatively small in scale, with 64.8% of respondents reporting that they publish fewer than 20 articles annually. The study also highlighted the heavy reliance on volunteer work in many journals, whether fully or partially, and shed light on the significant challenges related to institutional funding.

The webinar also explored the willingness of Diamond OA journals to collaborate with other organizations to achieve their goals in areas such as training, support, and advice on publishing policies and best practices, production, communication, and editorial services. Recognizing the significant potential of Diamond OA journals, the session addressed the support needed to ensure their sustainability. Among the cited needs were human resource support, technical support, facilities to ensure interoperability, visibility and indexation, and advocacy efforts required for Diamond OA publishing support.

The great participation that the open science webinar series is gaining is a testament to the impact that the knowledge shared is having throughout the research and education community in Africa. The series continues to grow, and we invite you to be a part of this vital conversation. Access the proceedings of this webinar and sign up for the next webinars in the AfricArXiv series here, and stay informed by subscribing to the AfricArXiv YouTube channel here, where all sessions are shared and freely accessible.

UbuntuNet Alliance and Access2Perspectives extend warm thanks to Iryna Kuchma and her team, as well as all the participants who attended the webinar. Together, we are building a stronger foundation for open science in Africa.

About the webinar series

This webinar was co-organized by UbuntuNet Alliance and Access 2 Perspectives as part of the ORCID Global Participation Program.

ORCID is the persistent identifier for researchers to share their accomplishments (research articles, data, etc with funding agencies, publishers, data repositories, and other research workflows.

AfricArXiv is a community-led digital archive for African research communication. By enhancing the visibility of African research, we enable discoverability and collaboration opportunities for African scientists on the continent as well as globally.