Innovative Open Access in small sciences (InnOAccess)

Academia – especially internet research – strives on a dynamic and diverse publishing ecosystem within which researchers can read and publish results and insights free of major hurdles. In practice, though, high article-processing charges and opaque publication processes pose significant difficulties for researchers and interested readers alike.

The following concrete measures are being implemented in cooperation with  the ZBW –  Leibniz Information Centre for Economics: an automated editorial system as well as improving the community management capacities of the open access journal Internet Policy Review. Additionally, a fee-free open access model oriented towards small research fields – such as internet regulation, media informatics or journalism – will be established in a sustainable way. Eventually the findings and experiences will be [brought together] for other publisher-independent open access journals, released to the public in white papers, and transferred in workshops.

The project builds on prior work by the Internet Policy Review, published by HIIG since 2012. This journal publishes independent of any publishers, does not charge and processing fees, and has made a name for itself through an accelerated and open peer review process. Internet Policy Review follows legal changes as well the development of internet standards and norms that have long-term impacts on European societies. The journal constitutes a resource for academics, civil society, entrepreneurs, media, and politicians in equal measure. It is indexed in the Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and Scopus; it is furthermore a member of the Association of Open Access Publishers (OASPA).

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) hereby supports a project that sustainably eases access to scientific resources.

First findings are available as a project poster presentation.