EIFL, AJOL (African Journals Online) and WACREN (the West and Central African Research and Education Network) take pleasure in announcing the award of 17 grants that will strengthen the quality and sustainability of no-fee (Diamond) open access journals and journal hosting platforms across Africa. 

The grants, of up to US$20,000 each, were awarded to 17 projects focused on strengthening no-fee open access journals and open access journal platforms in nine countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia).

This was the first of two open calls for proposals for funding that are part of the three-year Collaboration for Sustainable Open Access Publishing in Africa project, implemented by EIFL, AJOL and WACREN, with funding from Wellcome. The project will develop and deliver a participatory funding approach to strengthen the quality and sustainability of African Diamond open access publishing while maintaining its diversity. Diamond open access means that authors and readers pay no fees to publish or read articles. The second call for proposals will be launched in 2025.

MEET THE GRANTEES

Ethiopia

• Addis Ababa University, to create a sustainable training programme that will build expertise and skills of journal editors, reviewers and authors of two no-fee open access journals, the Ethiopian Journal of Education and the Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities, enabling them to fully utilize the Ethiopian Journals Online (EJOL) platform.
• Bahir Dar University College of Education, to enhance the quality and sustainability of the Bahir Dar Journal of Education.

Ghana

• The Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, for a project to improve the accessibility, visibility and discoverability of Feminist Africa, a no-fee open access gender studies journal produced by a community of feminist scholars. 
• The University of Ghana, to enhance the skills of editors of five no-fee open access journals: the Ghana Journal of Geography, Contemporary Journal of African Studies, Ghana Journal of Theology and Religion, Health Sciences Investigation Journal and Science and Development Journal.

Kenya

• The Kenya Association of Physicians, for a project that will improve the reach and impact of the Journal of the Kenya Association of Physicians (JOCAP).
• The Regional Institute of Information and Knowledge Management, for a project that will institutionalize and systemize the operations of the Regional Journal of Information and Knowledge Management.

Mozambique

• Eduardo Mondlane University (Universidade Eduardo Mondlane - UEM), for a project to improve its journal publishing platform, UEM Scientific Journals (Revistas Científicas da UEM (RC-UEM). UEM will place a special emphasis on improving  the quality and sustainability of the journal, Revista Científica da UEM: Série Letras e Ciências Sociais.

Nigeria

• The Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES) at Afe Babalola University, for a project to boost the quality, sustainability and impact of the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (JSDLP).

Rwanda

• The University of Rwanda, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, for a project that aims to enhance the quality and sustainability of its no-fee open access journal, the Rwanda Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences.

South Africa

• The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), to enhance excellence of the South African Journal of Science. 
• African Minds Trust, for a project that aims to create a sustainable no-fee open access future for the Journal of Student Affairs in Africa (JSAA), a journal of the University of Pretoria. 
• LINK Centre, at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, for a project to strengthen the African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC). 
• The National Association for Clean Air, for a project to enhance the discoverability, visibility and impact of Clean Air Journal.
• The School of Arts at the University of Pretoria, for a project that aims to enhance and strengthen the reputation of its online journal, Image & Text.
• The University of Johannesburg, for a project to address challenges to the growth and impact of the Journal of Construction Project Management and Innovation (JCPMI).

Tanzania

• The University of Dar es Salaam, for a project that will improve the quality and contribute to future sustainability of the University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal. 

Zambia

• The University of Zambia (UNZA), for a project that aims to encourage greater institutional support for no-fee open access publishing at the university, and strengthen the editorial processes and procedures of the Journal of Agricultural and Biomedical Sciences (UNZA-JABS). 

More about the Collaboration for Sustainable Open Access Publishing in Africa project.