Collaboration for sustainable open access publishing in Africa

Collaboration for sustainable OA publishing in Africa project (2023-2026) eifl.net, managed by African Journals Online (AJOL), EIFL and West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN) with funding from Wellcome, develops and delivers a participatory funding approach to strengthen the quality and sustainability of African Diamond OA publishing. Community is a crosscutting theme in the project and this poster will highlight 17 collaborative Diamond OA publishing projects from nine countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia eifl.net). It will also present guidelines, policy templates and sustainability models for Diamond OA journal publishing compiled by the African Diamond OA Community of Practice, established during the project, which includes 337 members and is growing.  Continental platforms’ role in advancing Diamond OA publishing will also be highlighted with AJOL fast-tracking Diamond OA journal applications and celebrating 223 Diamond OA journals on the platform ajol.info - over 200% increase since the project start. WACREN’s experiments with Publish, Review, Curate Diamond OA publishing will also be presented.  Furthermore, rewards and incentives for critical, yet often under-recognised, contributions of editors and peer reviewers in Diamond OA publishing will be addressed to ensure appropriate academic reward structures with the Academy of Science of South Africa Statement on the Recognition of the Work of Editors and Peer Reviewers of Academic Journals and Books in South Africa research.assaf.org.za as one of the examples.  Collaboration for sustainable OA publishing in Africa project has been reusing and building upon DIAMAS project results in the project activities.