Open Access Policy

Objectives

The Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) is engaged in foundational social science research on Eastern Europe and shares the results with policymakers, the media and the broader public. As an independent, international, publicly funded research institute, it is committed to Open Access principles and strives to make its research findings readily available, in a usable format, to as broad an audience as possible. ZOiS has therefore signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities of 22 October 2003.

Open Access publications are made available without access barriers. This brings direct and lasting benefits for research and innovation in academia and society at large. Open Access mandates from research funding bodies such as the BMBF, the European Commission and the European Research Council also stipulate that the projects funded by these bodies follow Open Access principles.

This Open Access Policy provides a general recommendation framework for Open Access publishing at ZOiS and supplements ZOiS’s Guidelines on Good Academic Practice. The Policy takes account of the different publishing practices for different disciplines and of the different stages ZOiS researchers have reached in their careers.

Measures and recommendations

  • ZOiS’s own publications – ZOiS Spotlight and ZOiS Report – are freely accessible online. As well as being published on the Centre’s website, the ZOiS Report series is also made available and permanently archived on the subject repository OstDok, an Open Access platform for research on East, East Central and Southeast Europe.
  • ZOiS recommends that its researchers refrain from assigning exclusive usage rights when signing contracts with publishing houses. Authors should, at a minimum, secure simple usage rights for dissemination via Open Access.
  • At the time of publishing, authors should provide a copy of their work for publication in an Open Access repository, ensuring as far as possible that the version they provide can be made directly available online.
  • ZOiS supports publication in original Open Access journals or publishing houses.
  • Financial resources for publications should, as far as possible, be included in applications for project funding from external funding bodies (e.g. BMBF, German Research Foundation (DFG), and European Commission).
  • ZOiS provides all its researchers with limited funding to cover publication charges for hybrid Open Access articles; specifically, for at least one journal article per year.
  • ZOiS provides advice and support to its researchers with regard to the practical aspects of Open Access: concluding contracts with publishing houses, acquiring funding to cover publication charges, and fulfilling any obligations arising from externally funded projects. ZOiS will appoint an Open Access Officer for this purpose.

ZOiS will regularly review this Open Access Policy in light of current conditions and revise it if necessary.