Beyond budgets and business models, diamond open access restores core scholarly values: openness, equity and trust.

Why this matters to authors and editors

When editors explain why they choose a diamond open access publisher, their reasons almost never begin with cost. They talk about fairness. They talk about reach. They talk about wanting authors’ work to circulate freely, without barriers or caveats.

For many researchers, publishing is not simply about prestige, it is about contribution. It is about enabling research to shape teaching, policy, practice and public understanding. Diamond open access resonates here because it removes a long‑standing obstacle: the ability to pay. There are no author fees to secure, no funding shortfalls to navigate. The publishing process focuses squarely on the quality and significance of the work itself.

This human dimension is often overlooked in discussions that reduce open access to economics. Yet it is central to understanding why diamond open access has gained such global momentum.

A cultural model, not just a funding model

Diamond open access is often summarised in financial terms: free for readers, free for authors, collectively funded. While true, this is only part of the story.

Diamond open access publishing is grounded in a philosophy of what scholarship is for. It recognises research as a public good. It holds that dissemination is integral to the academic mission and that publishing should serve the needs of researchers, scholars, students and communities.

In practice, this translates into transparent governance, non‑profit operations and close alignment with research bodies, universities and scholarly societies. It also means protecting bibliodiversity: supporting interdisciplinary, emergent and community‑relevant research that commercial markets may undervalue but which is vital to intellectual and societal progress.

Diamond open access strengthens the scholarly ecosystem rather than competing within it. It nurtures relationships between authors, editors, reviewers and institutions because all are committed to the same outcome: the widest possible circulation of knowledge.

The UCL Press model in practice

As the UK's first fully open access university press, UCL Press was established on this foundation of open access to published knowledge. As apart of and supported by UCL (University College London, UK), the Press operates with no commercial imperative removing conflicts of interest between publishing and commercial gain, ensuring that publishing decisions serve scholarship and not revenue targets.

Because authors are never charged to publish, editorial decisions are made solely by Editorial Boards and are driven purely by academic merit and contribution. Because readers face no access barriers, research reaches audiences far beyond the academy: students, practitioners, policymakers and independent researchers worldwide.

This mission‑driven model is strengthened by investment in shared and open‑source infrastructure. These tools reduce costs, increase transparency and support long‑term resilience for the journals that rely on them. Participation in community‑led initiatives and consortia extends these benefits beyond UCL, reinforcing collective capacity across the open research landscape.

The impact is evident: UCL Press journals have been downloaded millions of times from nearly every country and cited more than 14,000 times. In the diamond context, sustainability is defined not by revenue generation but by use and by how widely research is read, shared and applied.

Trust, equity and inclusion

Diamond open access also reframes who gets to participate in scholarly communication. In fee‑based publishing systems, the ability to publish openly often depends on access to financial support. This creates inequities in visibility, reach and influence.

By removing author charges entirely, diamond open access models address a structural imbalance that has shaped global research for a long time. While it does not eliminate all inequities, it removes one of the most visible and consequential barriers.

Trust is essential here. Researchers need confidence that publishing decisions are made on academic grounds, not financial ones. Libraries and institutions must trust that their investments support long‑term access, not short‑term profit. Diamond open access builds that trust by aligning financial structures with scholarly values.

A global conversation

This shift is part of a wider international movement. UNESCO, Coalition S and the Diamond OA Action Plan have helped foreground equity, community governance and public value in open access discussions. Across regions and disciplines, there is renewed recognition that open access must be inclusive to be meaningful.

Diamond open access has become a key element of this landscape because it responds directly to these priorities. It is not simply about eliminating fees, it is about returning scholarly communication to the communities it exists to serve.

Returning to first principles

At its core, diamond open access is a return to the fundamental purpose of universities: to create and share knowledge. Publishing is one of the ways that mission is realised. When publishing structures are aligned with institutional values – openness, inclusion and societal benefit – the tensions between access and sustainability become far easier to navigate.

This is not a romanticised view of the past. It is a forward‑looking one. Diamond open access embraces the realities of digital dissemination, global audiences and complex funding landscapes. But it insists that infrastructure and investment should support scholarship.

In our next and final post in this diamond open access series, we will look ahead. If diamond open access represents an ethical and cultural realignment, how can that vision be scaled and sustained globally? What kinds of collaboration and shared stewardship will be required to build a truly international diamond ecosystem?

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