Collaboration, shared infrastructure and collective investment can unlock a global diamond ecosystem.

From idea to infrastructure

Diamond open access (OA) is no longer a marginal experiment. Over the past decade, it has moved from principle to practice, from isolated initiatives to coordinated efforts across institutions and regions.

The conversation about it has also shifted and the question is no longer whether publishing without author fees is desirable. Rather, and more increasingly, it is whether it can be scaled up in ways that are stable, equitable and internationally connected. Scaling diamond open access is not about replicating commercial growth models. It is about building durable infrastructure, strengthening collaboration and aligning investment with shared academic purpose.

Why no one institution can do this alone

Rarely can the most interesting questions or the most significant societal challenges be adequately addressed by one discipline, one university or one sector alone. It is only by sharing the result of academic enquiry and research as openly and widely as possible can its benefits to humanity be maximised. And this system cannot be stitched together in silos.

University presses, libraries and scholarly societies have demonstrated that diamond open access can work (a quick glance at the Diamond Discovery Hub lists well over 3,000 journals, and counting). But sustaining it at a global level requires more than individual commitment.

Publishing involves technology platforms, preservation systems, metadata standards, indexing relationships and skilled editorial teams. These elements cannot be built and maintained in isolation without duplication of effort and unnecessary cost, but collective approaches offer a way forward.

By pooling resources and expertise, these institutions can reduce risk and increase resilience. Additionally, and also importantly, shared governance models ensure that decisions reflect the priorities of scholarly communities rather than commercial imperatives.

Initiatives such as the Open Journals Collective illustrate how coordinated funding and community stewardship can support diamond OA journals that are free to read and free to publish in. By inviting libraries and institutions to invest in a shared portfolio, such models move beyond transactional payments towards sustained support for community led open scholarship.

What a global diamond ecosystem could look like

A scaled diamond OA future would not be centralised under a single organisation, but instead it would be federated. University presses and scholar-led journals would retain their identities and editorial independence while operating within shared technical and financial frameworks.

Common standards for metadata, preservation and discoverability would ensure that diamond OA publications are visible and durable. Investment would flow into training, platform development and long-term digital archiving rather than into shareholder returns.

In this ecosystem, participation would not depend on the ability of individual authors to secure funding. Institutions would contribute according to capacity, recognising that the benefits of open scholarship extend beyond their own campuses. Such a model would also support bibliodiversity and enable smaller journals, interdisciplinary publications, and work in less widely spoken languages to have space to thrive, because sustainability would not depend solely on volume or revenue generation, but on the new knowledge it produces.

The role of UCL Press

UCL Press has always approached diamond OA as a practical commitment rather than a rhetorical position. As the UK’s first fully open access university press, it has demonstrated that journals can be published at scale without charging authors.

Participation as a founding publishing member of the Open Journals Collective reflects this long-standing commitment to collaboration. By working alongside other mission-led university presses, publishers and library partners, UCL Press contributes experience, infrastructure and insight to a wider movement that extends beyond any single institution.

Leadership in this context is not about ownership. It is about sharing practice, being transparent about challenges and supporting collective solutions that strengthen the entire ecosystem.

Shared stewardship as the future of open access

The future of open access will depend less on individual business models and more on shared stewardship. Diamond OA has shown that publishing can align with the values of universities and research communities. The next step is to ensure that the structures supporting it are robust and internationally connected.

This requires continued dialogue between publishers, libraries, funders and scholars. It requires investment in open infrastructure and long-term preservation. It also requires confidence that collective approaches are not only principled but practical.

Diamond OA began as a way to remove barriers. It is quickly becoming a way to rebuild publishing around community ownership, transparency and equity. If the first phase of open access was about access to content, the next is surely about responsibility for the systems (technological and societal) that make that access possible.

The future of open scholarship will not be secured by competition alone but by shared investment and by institutions recognising that open knowledge is a common good. We invite colleagues across the sector to continue this conversation, to engage with emerging collectives and to consider how their own publishing strategies might contribute to a resilient, global diamond ecosystem.

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