Request for Open Access Publications

In January 2006, the DFG’s Joint Committee adopted a set of guidelines for the publication of results from DFG-funded projects on an open access basis, and this was updated in 2019. It is not compulsory for results from DFG-funded projects to be published in open access, though since that time the general guidelines for use(interner Link) have included a request to publish in open access.

“Project results which ensue from DFG-funded projects must be made accessible to the general public in a suitable manner. […] DFG grant recipients are requested to publish their project results in open access for the purpose of adequate scholarly communication. The articles in question should either be published directly in quality-assured or recognised specialist open access journals or on open access platforms or, in addition to being published by a publishing company, be entered in discipline-specific or institutional electronic archives (repositories), if possible without a time delay.”

Support for Open Access Publications

Project-related publication expenses can be applied for as part of a proposal to carry out a research project. In the case of individual grants, for example, the DFG covers publication expenses of up to €750 per year of the funding duration. One of the possible uses of this allowance is to cover the fees for publishing open access journal articles or open access monographs. If these exceed the approved publication allowance, flexible funding allows the publication allowance to be increased by reducing the staff expenses or direct project costs within the same grant.

These funds, however, should not be used without consulting the local (university) library. This is particularly important if the institution provides open access funding through the “Open Access Publication Funding”(interner Link) programme and the duplicate funding of publications must be avoided. In most cases, this can easily be clarified by coordinating with the library at a research institution, since the library also manages contracts relating to open access publishing and under certain circumstances will cover the relevant costs.

The DFG does not accept proposals from individual researchers solely requesting funding for an open access publication, except in cases where funding is to be provided under the “Publication Grants” programme. Open access officers(externer Link) at academic institutions can also give advice about additional funding opportunities for open access publications.

“Publication Grants” Funding Programme

Publication grants support the publication of scholarly works in printed or digital form. Publication grants can only be awarded for

• works in which basic material is made available for further research (such as editions of primary texts and manuscript material) and
• works of exceptional scholarly importance which constitute the first publication of outstanding results.

A publication grant can only be used to fund electronic book publications and open access books. The decision not to publish in open access requires justification as does the production of a fixed print edition. In addition, it is possible to request funding to cover proof-reading costs. In the case of a purely electronic publication, details must be provided of how long-term availability is to be ensured.

Individual researchers whose book publications do not result from DFG research funding are eligible to apply.

Further Information

• Forms and guidelines: DFG form 51.10 – Guidelines “Publication Grants”(interner Link)
• Contact: See here for the contact persons(interner Link) responsible at the Head Office.