Publication Fund for Open Access Monographs

The following funding criteria have been developed by the Open Access Brandenburg working group in collaboration with the Open Access Brandenburg team. A detailed version is available (German).

The criteria are based on those of the “Quality Standards for Open Access Books” of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Universitätsverlage.

The AuROA service catalog for scientific open access publications can serve as guidance for agreements on services in the publication process between authors and publishers.

• Eligible for funding are publications by members of the eight state universities in Brandenburg. Each person can submit one application per year.
• Scientific monographs, anthologies, and contributions in anthologies as well as conference proceedings are eligible for funding. The anthology in which a contribution is published must be entirely Open Access to ensure the contribution’s eligibility for funding.
• Funded publications are immediately available in open access upon release.
• The funded publications must be provided under a Creative Commons or a similar, open-access-compliant license (CC BY or CC BY-SA recommended).
• Authors and editors grant the publisher/publication service simple usage rights and present the VuK with a corresponding contract, contract clause, or addendum.
• The publication has undergone a quality assurance process typical for the discipline (at least editorial review).
• Funded publications are to be provided in a form that supports digital long-term archiving without an embargo (possibly via secondary publication).
• A transparent cost calculation detailing the Open Access-specific costs must be obligatorily submitted as a publisher document in electronic form. For guidance, a sample calculation (see below) and a dataset with cost breakdowns for a total of 33 funding processes, published by VuK in February 2024, are available.
• Publications can be funded up to a maximum limit of 6,000 euros. For contributions to anthologies, a funding limit of 2,500 euros applies. A minimum funding amount of 1,000 euros (gross) is applicable.
• Funded publications should be published in demonstrably scientific publishers. Preference is given to publishers listed in the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) or members of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).
• Upon publication, metadata that meets library standards should be provided under a public-domain-compatible license (e.g., CC0).
• The publication and accompanying materials, especially the publisher’s website for the publication, must indicate the open-access availability and funding by the publication fund.
• The publisher/publication service names a contact person for open access and provides information on the benefits of an open-access publication, as well as legal issues and open-access licenses.

• Simultaneously with the open-access publication, a print edition can also be released; however, costs incurred for this are not funded.
• Both the open-access and print editions will be clearly marked as open-access publications. If a print edition is distributed, it must explicitly refer to the digital open-access edition. The imprint of both the online and print edition must provide clear licensing information.
• The publisher’s website and promotional materials should prominently indicate that the work is available in open access in addition to the paid version.
• Long-term archiving of the open-access edition is ensured (e.g., via the German National Library).
• The imprint of the print and open-access edition, as well as the website leading to the open-access edition, contains a notice about funding from the Publication Fund for Open Access Monographs of the Federal State of Brandenburg (wording: “This publication was supported by funds from the Publication Fund for Open Access Monographs of the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany./Diese Veröffentlichung wurde aus Mitteln des Publikationsfonds für Open-Access-Monografien des Landes Brandenburg gefördert.”).
• A combination with other funding sources is possible.
• Pure print editions and theses (bachelor’s, master’s, magister, and diploma theses) are not eligible for funding. Dissertations are eligible if they are graded “summa cum laude”.
• The publications are simultaneously published on the repository of the respective institution. A sole publication on the repository is also eligible for funding if the publisher does not provide its own OA publication infrastructure and services. Please contact us for the applicable conditions.

Please use our application form to provide us with the information about your publication that we need for the funding decision.

The publications funded by the fund that have already been published are listed here. 

If you have any questions about the application procedure or would like to apply for funding for another OA monograph project please contact fonds@open-access-brandenburg.de. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you very much!

A Task Group consisting of members of the eight universities of the federal state of Brandenburg develops funding criteria and workflows for the publication fund in cooperation with Open Access Brandenburg.

One of our obligatory conditions for funding is the transparent cost breakdown by the publishers. Since we have repeatedly received requests to give an example of what this could look like, we are making it available below. Please note that you do not necessarily have to follow this example but can also break down other costs. In particular, we welcome the breakdown of overheads.

• Project management in editing and production: €800
• Setting and layout setup (€3.40/page, 300 pages, 20 images, standard production): €1,020
• Author’s proofreading costs: €500
• Digital preparation and management of OA sales structures: €1,000
• Marketing: €400
• Publishing overheads: €1,150
• Total (net): €4,870
• Total (including German VAT): €5.795,30