The European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) was officially launched one year ago and it's been an exciting year for Diamond Open Access in Europe and beyond. EDCH was established to strengthen and support the Diamond OA landscape in Europe, via developing services and tools, engaging and expanding the European Diamond OA communities and providing the foundation for an equitable scholarly publishing ecosystem.
Our Year in Numbers
With a dedicated team and an engagement community across Europe, the EDCH was able to accomplish a lot.
Here’s a snapshot of key milestones achieved this past year.
- 6 dedicated Task Forces driving coordination, quality, capacity building, funding support, tools & tech, and community engagement
- 6 professional services for Diamond OA available through the EDCH including assessment tools, resources and guidelines, registry and forum.
- 11 organisations supporting its mission of equitable and community-driven Diamond open access (OPERAS, EIFL, ANR, SPARC Europe, DOAJ, FECYT, Plan S, Open Edition, Science Europe, CNRS, Gates Foundation)
- 11 established National Capacity Centres (NCCs) and 10 additional NCCs in the making, strengthening Diamond OA capacity at national level across Europe.
- 13 training modules available on the Training Platform supporting capacity building in Diamond OA.
- 267 members active in the Forum and 205 registered organisations in the Registry.
- 2981 Diamond OA journals listed in the Diamond Discovery Hub (DDH) and discoverable by authors, libraries, and research institutions.
These numbers reflect both the dedication of the community and the growing importance and relevance of strong collaborative actions for Diamond OA in Europe.
Community Voices: Reflections on Year One of the EDCH
We invited our EDCH communities including Task Force leaders, service managers, and community partners to share their reflections on the past year. Here’s what they had to say:
"The EDCH is a vital part of the movement towards high quality non-commercialised and scholar-led publishing and being part of the EDCH community has been a great opportunity to connect with people in diverse roles from across the continent to share knowledge and experiences. It’s exciting to see the range of interesting projects underway and I’m looking forward to making use of the Diamond Discovery Hub data in my own work to promote Diamond OA." Danny Smith, EDCH Advocate
| “The EDCH, 1 year already! What mattered most to me this year was discovering a space where Diamond OA feels less like a slogan and more like a huge, dynamic, and hardworking community. There’s a lot of real work happening behind the scenes, and it feels genuinely great to be part of it and to help make that work visible through the EDCH.” Marion Paulhac, EDCH Community Manager
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'The EDCH provides a much-needed focal point for European Diamond open-access publishing, both globally and online.' Dominic Mitchell, EDCH Tools and Technologies Task Force
| “For me, the most important contribution of the EDCH has been to bring together the Diamond OA community in Europe, as can be seen by the 21 National Capacity Centers that are now taking shape all over Europe” Johan Rooryck, EDCH Co-coordinator
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“It is an honor and a rewarding experience to be part of the very first group of advocates for the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH). I greatly value their work and am happy to always share their commitment and multiple resources to strengthen fair, community-driven Diamond Open Access publishing across Europe. Happy anniversary, EDCH, here’s to many more to come!” Barbara Hissa, EDCH Advocate
| “The European Diamond Capacity Hub provides multiple tools for different stakeholders involved in the publication of scholarly journals and promotes the value of Diamond journals. These include how-to guides, training materials, self-assessment tools, and, in short, a large number of resources open to the entire community. Importantly, it also generates a network of people who believe in and advocate for open access to science.” Remedios Melero, EDCH Advocate
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"In my opinion, the creation of the EDCH has brought a sense of reality and community to the Diamond OA narrative in Europe. It provides a tangible space, dedicated services, and a team of people to represent this promising model of scholarly communication across the continent". Pierre Mounier, EDCH Co-coordinator
| “Looking back at the first year of the European Diamond Capacity Hub, it is amazing to see how the spirit of Diamond Open Access leads to many countries who are in the process of building up National Capacity Centres. This has provided valuable chances to learn from other examples, profited from an open forum for questions and discussions, and unlocked new ideas.” Nanette Rißler-Pipka, EDCH Germany National Capacity Center
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"The training platform is an important contribution of the EDCH. It offers courses increase the quality of Diamond OA publishing and support for the community to include their own resources" Karla Avanço, Skills and Competences Task Force Lead
| “The EDCH shows the OA Diamond Community’s strategic commitment to sustaining and integrating key services developed through European projects, ensuring their long-term viability within the scholarly communication landscape”. Pilar Rico Castro, Quality Alignment Task Force Lead
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“EDCH provided concrete tools, training, and support networks that strengthened Diamond OA publishers, improved editorial practices, and increased the visibility of the model at the European level, generating synergies and common understandings about problems and challenges in the community.” Susana Costa & Pedro Principe, EDCH Portugal National Capacity Center
| “EDCH addresses the practical needs of the academic community, guiding it along a barrier-free Diamond Open Access route. Tools, services, guidelines turn the principles of equity and inclusiveness into practical publishing support.” Iraklis Katsaloulis, Manolis Peponakis & Vasiliki Apostolopoulou, EDCH Greece National Capacity Center
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"Over its first year the European Diamond Capacity Hub consolidated the Diamond OA community by providing shared standards, visibility, training, networking, and tools for publishers and service providers". Maxim Kupreyev, EDCH Tools and Technologies Task Force
| “The EDHC is packed with useful information on Diamond OA. From discovering Diamond journals and how to improve them via courses and guidelines, among many others, it’s certainly something to be on the radar of anyone interested not only in community-led publishing but also in being part of it!” Maria Constantin, EDCH Netherlands National Capacity Center
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“By reducing fragmentation and investing in shared tools, training, and standards, the European Diamond Capacity Hub in its first year has laid critical foundations for a more sustainable and scalable Diamond OA ecosystem.” Ashley Farley, Gates Foundation, EDCH Funder
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These reflections highlight the diversity of perspectives across the EDCH community, from improved visibility and connections to practical support offered by the EDCH.
Looking Ahead
As the EDCH moves into its second year, ongoing work will focus on deepening collaboration, expanding and refining its services, and enhancing the sustainability of the Diamond OA ecosystem through establishing stronger collaborations and working with partners and funders. Stay tuned!
