D3.5 Extensible Quality Standard in Institutional Publishing (EQSIP) V1.0_approved by the EC

The Extensible Quality Standard for Institutional Publishing (EQSIP) seeks to ensure the quality and transparency of governance, processes and workflows in institutional publishing and addresses the seven core components of scholarly publishing outlined in the Diamond Open Access (OA) Action Plan (Ancion et al. 2022, 4), which were subsequently revised and modified by the DIAMAS project team. The EQSIP is developed in two stages: the first version, EQSIP V1.0 detailed below, is based on an analysis of the existing standards, best practices, evaluation criteria, guidelines and recommendations which have been identified as relevant for institutional publishers (IPSP best practice report).

It is important to stress from the outset that EQSIP V1.0 is aspirational: it represents an attempt at outlining what we believe is an ideal quality level that Diamond Open Access (OA) IPSPs would adhere to. This emphatically does not imply that Diamond OA IPSPs are currently expected to conform to this standard. EQSIP V1.0 should be seen as an aspirational gold standard: a measure of quality that IPSPs strive to meet, and that serves as a point of reference against which current IPSPs may be compared, and that they can hopefully conform to in good time and with appropriate support.

EQSIP V1.0 will be further tested with a representative sample of IPSPs selected from the landscape survey to be conducted in the DIAMAS project, and the results of the testing will be used to conduct a gap analysis of the IPSP landscape and to develop EQSIP V2.0. The goal of EQSIP V2.0 will be to adapt, refine, and co-create versions of EQSIP V1.0 that are best suited for specific scholarly disciplines, regions, and languages. The various versions of EQSIP V2.0 will only be fully implemented once all the necessary infrastructure for supporting Diamond OA IPSPs is in place.