Incentive Fund Open Access - Journals

NWO believes that publicly financed research should be freely accessible. Having to pay for access to the results from such research is not right. NWO is convinced that Open Access publishing is the most effective method for realising such free access.

NWO also recognises that researchers’ awareness about access to their publications is an important step towards realising open access. NWO therefore seeks to raise this awareness and to provide incentives for Open Access. The aim of the Incentive Fund Open Access - Journals is to stimulate the founding of new Open Access journals and the conversion of existing journals to Open Access journals.

Who can apply

Researchers at the following knowledge institutions can apply:

• a. Dutch universities;
• b. NWO and KNAW institutes;
• c. The Netherlands Cancer Institute;
• d. the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, and
• e. researchers on the Dutch Belgian Beamline at ESRF in Grenoble.

Persons who are not employed at an institution recognised by NWO can submit a proposal in cooperation with a researcher at one of the aforementioned institutions.

What can be applied for

Funding can only be requested for:

• setting up a new Open Access journal;

The starting grant is a maximum of € 45,000 for a total period of 3 years.

• converting an existing journal into an Open Access journal.

A maximum of € 22,500 for 3 years is available.

The funding covers the financial support of the new Open Access journal for the first 3 years. Only the costs directly associated with the founding and running of the journal are eligible for funding.

When can be applied

• Closing date for the submission of applications is 4 October 2011, 23:59 hrs

Criteria

Proposals should fit within the objectives of this funding instrument. The proposals will be assessed against the following criteria:

1. scientific quality of the journal, to be determined on the basis of the following aspects:

• the composition of the editorial board and possible advisory boards;
• how the peer review process for articles to be included in the journal is organised;
• for a new Open Access journal, the presence of a clear demand or existence of a niche market will be taken into consideration;
• for the conversion of an existing journal to an Open Access journal the track record of the journal concerned will be taken into consideration.

2. financial soundness, to be determined on the basis of the business plan submitted. This plan must provide clear answers about the financial soundness of the new journal.

3. technical soundness, to be determined on the basis of:

• how the Open Access journal will be published;
• the technical support offered by the publisher;
• the software to be used by the publisher;
• how the permanent access of publications is provided for.

Procedure

The first step in the assessment procedure is to determine the admissibility of the application. A science-wide committee will assess the proposals on the basis of the criteria. If the committee still has any questions about a proposal, then it will request the applicants to provide an answer. The committee will advise the Governing Board (GB) about the allocation of funding. The GB will take a decision about which proposals will be awarded funding.

As this concerns projects with a relatively modest budget, Article 2.5 of the General Terms and Conditions of NWO Grants applies. This states that in certain cases the use of external referees can be omitted.

The NWO Code of Conduct on Conflicts of Interest applies to the evaluation committee and NWO staff involved.

Committees

A science-wide committee, in which experts on Open Access and publishers will particpate, will assess the proposals.

Budget

For this round a total sum of 1 million euro is available.

Financiers

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research

Contacts

• Ms I.D. (Isabel) van der Heiden
  phone: +31 (0)70 344 07 20, e-mail: i.vanderheiden@nwo.nl