DFG Funding Programme Open Access Publishing - Report about the Funding

The report "Open Access Publishing" contains extensive information from an empirical evaluation of the funding programme with which the DFG has been supporting the gold route of open access since 2010.

The study is based on a bibliometric analysis carried out by Forschungszentrum Jülich. An online survey was also conducted among 82 funded and non-funded institutions, which shared both their experiences of funding and assessments of future needs in relation to open access funding from the DFG. The surveys were supplemented by more detailed interviews. This part of the evaluation was carried out by JOANNEUM RESEARCH.

Between 2010 and 2016, 45 universities received funding through the programme. During this period, these institutions published almost 12,000 articles through gold open access with the help of the programme (including the universities' own contributions). Most of the funded articles were in the life sciences. The number of articles funded each year rose steadily throughout the period.

The effects of funding in the Open Access Publishing programme can be seen in the organisation and structures of the institutions. In addition to the establishment of workflows and funds to cover costs, the funding promoted measures to record and monitor publication figures. Over half of the funding recipients surveyed used the DFG funds to bring acquisition and open access organisationally closer together or merge them, and to stimulate the transformation from a subscription to an open access model.