Open Access Policy

Introduction

This Open Access Policy outlines the principles and guidelines for Afri Publishing's commitment to providing open access to scholarly research outputs. It integrates the use of Creative Commons Non Commercial licenses, specifically the Share Alike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license, and aligns with the principles of Plan S. This policy aims to promote the dissemination of knowledge, foster innovation, and support a global research community.

Principles

  1. Access for All: Afri Publishing is committed to providing free, unrestricted access to research outputs for all users, ensuring that knowledge is available to the widest possible audience.
  2. Quality Assurance: All published content will undergo rigorous peer review to maintain high academic and ethical standards.
  3. Author's Rights and Responsibilities: Authors will retain copyright of their work and grant Afri Publishing the right to publish and distribute their research under the specified Creative Commons license.
  4. Transparency: All publications will be clearly marked with the applicable Creative Commons license, allowing for easy identification of usage rights.

Creative Commons License

Afri Publishing will use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license for all research outputs. This license allows others to share and adapt the work under the following conditions:

  • Attribution: Users must give appropriate credit to the original author(s), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
  • Share Alike: If users remix, transform, or build upon the material, they must distribute their contributions under the same license as the original.

Plan S Compliance

Afri Publishing commits to the principles of Plan S, which advocate for:

  1. Open Access Journals: All Afri Publishing journals will be fully open access, ensuring that research outputs are immediately available without subscription or paywall barriers.
  2. No Embargo Periods: Research articles will be made available immediately upon publication, without any embargo periods.
  3. Funding and Support: Afri Publishing will actively support authors in complying with their funders' open access policies.
  4. Quality and Rigor: Afri Publishing will maintain high editorial and peer-review standards to ensure the quality and reliability of published research.
  5. Licensing and Reuse: Afri Publishing will employ Creative Commons licenses to enable easy sharing, distribution, and adaptation of research outputs.

Implementation

  1. Author Education and Support: Afri Publishing will provide authors with clear guidelines on how to select and apply the appropriate Creative Commons license during the submission process.
  2. Platform Integration: Afri Publishing's publishing platform will be configured to automatically apply the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license to all published research outputs.
  3. Metadata and Licensing Information: All publications will include prominent metadata indicating the specific Creative Commons license under which they are released.
  4. Monitoring and Compliance: Afri Publishing will periodically review and ensure compliance with this Open Access Policy.
  5. Periodic Policy Review: This policy will be reviewed and, if necessary, revised biennially to reflect evolving best practices and community standards.

This Open Access Policy, incorporating the use of Creative Commons licenses and adherence to Plan S principles, will guide Afri Publishing in its mission to advance global knowledge sharing and collaboration in the academic community.

Afri publishing fulfils the DOAJ definition of open access that full text of all content must be available for free and open access without delay with no embargo period and no requirement for users to register to read content.