Call for proposals
MathOA
The Foundation Mathematics in Open Access (MathOA) actively promotes the adoption of Fair Open Access principles —which includes non-profit status, community ownership, and transparency— in the wider transition towards open access publishing in mathematics.
To this end, the foundation is excited to announce a novel project. We open up a call for mathematicians to propose initiatives for new high-quality Diamond Open Access journals. The successful proposal(s) will be awarded a start-up fund of up to €10k.
Aim
To stimulate the creation of new high-quality Diamond Open Access (free for readers and contributors) journals in mathematics.
In principle, this could include the transition (or ‘flip’) of an existing mathematical journal to the Diamond Open Access model. Nonetheless, the present call is devoted to truly new journals solely. We encourage boards who are seeking advice or support to ‘flip’ their existing journal to a Diamond Open Access one to contact MathOA directly.
What can be applied for
Funding of up to €10k towards start-up costs, such as for a journal website, a publishing platform, DOIs, setup of a non-profit society, creation of a dedicated LATEX class, publicity and administrative costs. The funds are held in escrow by the MathOA Foundation and disbursed on an invoice basis.
Any of the most promising applications (i.e. not only the granted one(s)) will additionally be offered personalized advice on how to set up a journal from the MathOA Foundation and the Platform Wiskunde Nederland (PWN) Publications committee.
Evaluation criteria
Proposals are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Scientific quality, relevance, and scope.
- Urgency and demand (for example, areas with insufficient representation/depth of Fair OA journals, or a newer area that has critical mass).
- International reach, as well as diversity and balance in the board/team.
- Soundness and viability of the planning.
The evaluation of proposals is coordinated by the MathOA Diamond Open Access Stimulus Fund jury (Karen Aardal, Jos Baeten, Jop Briët, David Holmes, Ross Kang, Filippo Nuccio, Vic Reiner), and may involve the solicitation of external expert opinions. We anticipate results will be made available in the spring of 2025. The winner(s) will be announced publicly shortly thereafter.
How to apply
The only eligibility requirement for applicants is a professional scientific affiliation.
Proposals should consist of a two- or three-page pdf document, including the name of the journal, a description of scientific scope (with an overview of comparable or most closely related extant journals), a justification of the need for the journal, a prospective initial editorial board (including names and affiliations), a brief outline of editorial policies/structure, a timeline and business plan and a budget. In addition, each applicant in the founding/organizational team should include a short (one-page pdf) CV.
Proposals should take into account various principles of Diamond Open Access and Fair Open Access, which for instance require the establishment of a non-profit society, and eschew the collection of fees from contributors or readers.
The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2024. Send applications to info@mathoa.org. The jury may invite applications. For inquiries about the application procedure write to info@mathoa.org.
Sponsors
MathOA gratefully acknowledges additional funding from the Free University of Amsterdam, CWI, the Foundation Compositio Mathematica, and the University of Amsterdam to realize this initiative.
The following scholars endorse our initiative:
- Sylvie Benzoni (Université de Lyon, Institut Henri Poincaré)
- Timothy Gowers (Cambridge, Collège de France)
- Michael Joswig (TU Berlin)
- Monique Laurent (CWI)
- Jan van Neerven (TU Delft)
- Julia Wolf (Cambridge)