Publication Fund
The library of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences has been supporting Open Access publications for years in order to make scientific information (for example scientific publications or research data) digitally accessible to as many interested parties as possible without financial, legal or technical restrictions. Scientific umbrella organisations and research funding now primarily support publications that comply with the Open Access idea.
At Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, the library takes on the task of both informing publishers about licences, copyright or bibliometrics and implementing a satisfactory, successful and lasting publication of their research results. With the OPUS server, we already provide you with a platform for free Open Access publication or secondary publication.
Especially at research-intensive universities such as Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, publication fees are causing rising costs for the provision of scientific information due to the increase in Open Access publications.
In order to further expand the publication sector, a budget for expenses related to Open Access publications will therefore be available for the first time at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in the 2023 financial year. This publication fund comprises € 100,000 and is available immediately, managed by the library.
What purpose and who does the publication fund serve?
- The publication fund promotes Open Access publications (Gold, Diamond, transformative agreements) in recognised academic publication organs.
- In principle, all university members are eligible for funding. The focus is on the scientific work of researchers, but student research work can also be funded.
- The publication fund is intended exclusively for publications for which no publication grants can be awarded elsewhere, for example from research funding organisations.
- The maximum funding amount is 2,900€ (net). Only publication fees (Article/Book Processing Charges, short APCs/BPCs) are eligible for funding, no costs above and beyond this.
Which publication projects are eligible for funding now?
- The funded publication must comply with certain Open Access specifications (Gold, Diamond, Hybrid only within the scope of existing transformative agreements). Further information is available here. If alternative publication resources from third-party funding are available, these must be used first (self-commitment).
- The publication must be reported to the library by the author for evaluation (examination of a second publication on the OPUS, inclusion in the university bibliography server) as a link.
- In order to be eligible for funding, the applicant or another member of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences must act as corresponding/submitting author.
- The publication project must result from the respective employment relationship or context (teachers, researchers, employees, students).
The binding funding criteria of the Publication Fund can be found here.
Please note that the above criteria are only temporarily valid. In the medium term, a still more precisely defined regulatory basis will determine detailed funding guidelines in which way the publication fund can be used.
For what other purposes is the publication fund used?
The publication fund is also used to cover:
- Basic costs from Open Access transformation contracts ( for example DEAL: Wiley, Springer Nature).
- Funding contributions of Diamond Open Access content (non-commercial publication organs whose sponsors are scientists or scientific institutions).
- Author publication charges (APCs/BPCs) reported to the library by third parties (publisher dashboards).
- Infrastructure costs for Open Access content ( for example, hosting the OPUS server).
What do I need to do to apply for resources from the fund?
Please contact publikationsservice@hochschule-rhein-waal.de for an announcement/first consultation regarding your project.
If the publication has already been made, you can also start with a publication on the OPUS server.
Status: 05 April 2023.