DFG supported open access project tests new publication models

Berlin, 13 March 2019 – The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for the Internet and Society (HIIG) and the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics are starting to implement the joint project Innovative Open Access in the Small Sciences, which will be an exemplary extension of the Open Access journal Internet Policy Review. The project aims to provide sustainable support for Open Access publications. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is supporting the 18-month project.

The academic system, especially in the field of internet research, thrives on a dynamic and diverse publication landscape in which researchers can read and publish results and findings without major hurdles. However, high publication fees and intransparent publication processes often present researchers and interested readers with difficulties. The DFG, which has been promoting innovations in scientific electronic publications for a number of years, is thus supporting a project that will make access to science easier in the long term.

The following concrete measures will be implemented within the framework of the project: the implementation of an automated editorial system and the improvement of the community management of the Open Access journal Internet Policy Review. In addition, a free-of-charge Open Access model will be sustainably established in small subjects such as media informatics or journalism. New publication models are being evaluated and further developed as part of the project. The results will then be summarised in white papers for the public.

The project builds on the preliminary work of the Internet Policy Review published by the HIIG since 2012. The journal publishes independently of a publisher, does not charge any publication fees and has made a name for itself through an accelerated and open peer review process. “Furthermore, we are constantly testing new content formats, organisational forms, techniques and collaborations with the professional and Open Access community,” says Frédéric Dubois, chief editor of the Internet Policy Review. “The DFG’s support confirms the high quality of our work in recent years and is a decisive incentive to consolidate our model in the long term and to share it with interested parties,” says Dubois.

The project will start planning in March 2019 and will be led by Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann, Director of the HIIG, Prof. Dr. Christian Katzenbach, Research Programme Director at the HIIG and Prof. Dr. Klaus Tochtermann, Director of the ZBW.

Further information: Website of the Internet Policy Review

Press contact: Florian Lüdtke | phone: +49 30 200 760 82 | presse@hiig.de

About the Internet Policy Review

Internet Policy Review (ISSN 2197-6775) is an open access and peer-reviewed journal on internet regulation published by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) in cooperation with the RCUK Centre for Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy, Institut des sciences de la communication and the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute IN3.

About the HIIG

The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) researches the development of the internet from a societal perspective. The aim is to better understand the digitalisation of all spheres of life. As the first research institute in Germany to focus on on internet and society, HIIG has established an understanding that emphasises the embeddedness of digital innovations in societal processes. As node in the Global Network of Interdisciplinary Internet & Society Research Centers, an initiative of scientific institutions worldwide in the field of interdisciplinary research on internet and society, the institute is trying to develop a European perspective on digital transformation.

The HIIG was founded in 2011 by the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the University of the Arts Berlin and the Social Science Research Center Berlin, in alliance with the Hans-Bredow Institute for Media Research in Hamburg as an integrated co-operation partner. The research directors of the institute are Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ingolf Pernice, Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann, Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz.