National Diamond Open Access funding models

Abstract

How can Diamond Open Access be funded? Three different approaches are presented in this conversation. The Finnish Federation of Learned Societies (TSV) hosts a platform with more than 150 learned society journals. For the last couple of years, they have been distributing funds specifically to cover the operating costs of under-financed Diamond journals. The grantees are required to not make any profit in addition to the governmental funds they get through TSV. In Canada, the centralized dissemination platform Érudit showcases more than 250 active, non-commercial scholarly journals. Thanks to government funding of scholarly journals, a thriving library publishing sector, and Érudit's own coordinated funding scheme, the majority of Canadian journals are by now Diamond. In the Netherlands, a special fund for flipping journals to Diamond Open Access has just closed its first call. The fund is designed to help medium to large size journals transition away from a commercial business model. The three interlocutors each have prominent roles in these funding schemes. Together they reflect upon the future of academic publishing and how the present landscape might look when viewed 150 years from now.

Recording made April 8, 2025. First published online: May 28, 2025.