OAPEN and De Gruyter Enable Retroactive Open Access to ERC-Funded Publications

The OAPEN Foundation and De Gruyter have developed a framework agreement that comprises good practice guidelines for retroactive Open Access to books and chapters resulting from research funded by the European Research Council (ERC) as part of the 7th European Union (EU) Research Framework Programme (FP7).
A Blog Post by Eric Merkel-Sobotta.
Since the FP7 does not entail a strict Open Access mandate, publications resulting from its grants are generally not freely accessible. The framework agreement between De Gruyter and the OAPEN Foundation supports authors interested in switching their publications to Open Access by establishing compliance guidelines with ‘best effort’ requirements. As part of the agreement, ERC, OAPEN and De Gruyter have identified 110 publications (24 books and 86 chapters) deriving from ERC-funded research that will be made freely available retroactively in the OAPEN Library.
De Gruyter has been promoting Open Access since 2005, which was a first for this traditional publishing house. It is one of the more significant independent publishers of Open Access monographs and edited collections in the humanities. Among these, there are several Gold Open Access publications that originated from ERC grants under Horizon 2020, the current EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, which are available in the De Gruyter Open Access Book Library together with other titles and those of publishing partners. De Gruyter’s Open Access books are also listed in the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB).
According to Eelco Ferwerda, Director of OAPEN Foundation, “[t]his agreement extends beyond current Open Access requirements and demonstrates De Gruyter’s willingness to work with research funders supporting Open Access to books.” Similarly, Martin Stokhof, Vice-President and Chair of the Open Access Working Group at the European Research Council, has indicated that “[a]ll scholarly publications funded with public money should be freely accessible to everyone. De Gruyter’s willingness to enter into this agreement is a significant step towards the realization of that goal.”
Emily Poznanski, Strategy Director for De Gruyter, has added that its “ultimate goal is to support Open Access where [possible] […] and to be of more practical assistance to researchers.”
Written by by Eric Merkel-Sobotta
Edited by Pablo Markin
Featured Image Credits: Inside the National Library of Latvia, Riga, Latvia, September 2017 | © Courtesy of TeaMeister/Flickr.
This post is based on a press release that originally appeared in degruyter.com, 20/6/2019, https://www.degruyter.com/dg/newsitem/338/oapen-and-de-gruyter-enable-retroactive-open-access-for-ercfunded-publications.
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Pablo Markin (June 21, 2019). OAPEN and De Gruyter Enable Retroactive Open Access to ERC-Funded Publications. The DGO Blog. Retrieved March 16, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/132wb