An annual funding of €2,000 is available for eligible journals. An additional request may be submitted to cover exceptional expenses.
Eligibility criteria:
- Not already receiving funding from COPIL SO under an FNSO call for projects or start-up assistance;
- Demonstrate a strong connection to the Lorraine region, which may be evidenced by one of the following:
- the journal is published by the University of Lorraine, or
- the editorial or publishing assistance is provided by UL staff, or
- the journal is supported by a UL researcher who holds a decision-making position (publishing director, editor-in-chief), or
- the journal publishes on local history, geography, or heritage;
- Be distributed online with immediate open access or have a plan to transition to immediate open access within one year;
- Not charge publication fees (Article Processing Charges);
- Be distributed on a platform that meets editorial quality criteria (Quéro criteria, FNSO criteria) or apply to such a platform within the year. The following platforms are taken into account: Cairn, Centre Mersenne, Episciences, Erudit, OJS (subject to conditions), OpenEdition, OLH, Open U Journals, journal incubators, Persée, SciPost. The list may change with the agreement of the COPIL SO.
- Submit an editorial evaluation (on form): the evaluation is generally carried out by the publishing platform; otherwise, it can be carried out by the UL’s publishing support service.
- Submit a scientific evaluation (on content): if the scientific evaluation is not carried out by the publishing platform, the journal may request two evaluations from experts in its field to be submitted to the COPIL SO;
- Be listed in the DOAJ or apply to this information system within the year. Failure to meet this criterion must be justified and will be subject to additional arbitration by the COPIL SO.
- Have another source of funding. This funding may be external or internal to the UL and come from a laboratory, a center, etc. It is strongly recommended that approximately 20% of the journal’s total budget come from another source of funding. Failure to meet this criterion must be justified and will be subject to additional arbitration by the COPIL SO.
Ineligible expenses:
- For journals that maintain two formats (digital and print), expenses related to the print format are not eligible.
- Expenses related to workforce financing are not eligible.
To apply for funding: please send the completed form to before December 17, 2025.
Evaluation of applications: Funding applications are reviewed by the UL Open Science Steering Committee. Applications exceeding the €2,000 flat rate may be prioritized in order to stay within the available budget.