We believe that journals must publish articles based on the quality of the work rather than an author's ability to pay. The editorial process – including the decision of whether or not to accept an article for publication – should be independent of the author’s decision to publish Gold Open Access (OA), in cases where this is optional, as well as being independent of how the publication costs for a Gold OA article are funded.
Funding options for Cambridge authors
In all cases where authors publish articles Gold OA, the following support is available:
-
Institutional open access agreements: We have agreements covering over 2,000 institutions around the world to make Gold Open Access publication options available to authors. If the corresponding author of a research article is affiliated with one of these institutions, in the majority of cases these agreements will cover the full costs of publishing Gold OA (specific terms and conditions vary). See whether your institution is part of an agreement using our eligibility checker.
- Cambridge Open Equity Initiative (COEI): The COEI funds Gold Open Access publishing for authors from over 100 low- and middle-income countries, covering over 5,000 institutions. This eligibility is automatically recognised by any journal that publishes Gold OA articles. See our COEI hub for information on qualifying countries and frequently asked questions.
In cases where a journal requires an article to be published Gold OA, we provide further support for authors:
- Research4Life support: Authors from low- and middle-income countries who are not covered by an institutional open access agreement or the Cambridge Open Equity Initiative may be eligible for support under the Research4Life scheme. Corresponding authors of research articles based in 'Group A’ countries will automatically have Article Processing Charge (APC) costs waived entirely, and authors based in ‘Group B’ countries will automatically receive a 50% discount on an article’s APC. See the bottom of this page for a list of our Research4Life countries.
- Discretionary waivers and discounts: Any corresponding author of a research article who does not have coverage through an open access agreement, an equity initiative, or outside funding to pay an article processing charge (APC), can make a request for a discount or full waiver of an APC.
In all cases, authors may cover the costs of Gold OA publication through direct payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC).
Options available to authors are listed on each journal’s “open access options” page, which can be found under the "journal policies” section of the “journal information” tab on the journal’s home page.
Process for applying waivers and discounts
Once an article is accepted for publication, any applicable waiver or discount through institutional open access agreements or the Cambridge Open Equity Initiative will be automatically applied. Other waivers and discounts, such as discretionary and Society discounts or Research4Life discounts/waivers can be applied by the author when prompted during the publication process.
If an author is entitled to multiple discounts, the highest discount available will be applied. Please note that we cannot apply multiple discounts.
Further information
More information can be found on our publishing open access page or contact oaqueries@cambridge.org.
Research4Life countries
|
Research4Life Country |
Research4Life Group |
APC Discount (%) |
|---|---|---|
|
Botswana |
B |
50 |
|
Colombia |
B |
50 |
|
Comoros |
A |
100 |
|
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea |
A |
100 |
|
Egypt |
B |
50 |
|
Georgia |
B |
50 |
|
Ghana |
A |
100 |
|
Lebanon |
A |
100 |
|
Marshall Islands |
A |
100 |
|
Micronesia (Federated States of) |
A |
100 |
|
Namibia |
B |
50 |
|
Nauru |
A |
100 |
|
Republic of Moldova |
A |
100 |
|
Saint Helena |
A |
100 |
|
Timor-Leste |
A |
100 |
|
Tokelau |
A |
100 |