Beginning of 2023 i-com moved to Golden Open Access. I.e. all articles published in i-com are published open access – and the journal moved from a subscription fee based model to an author pay model (article processing charges, APCs).
So, in principle, all authors have to pay the publishers article processing charges when an article is published.
In this document we briefly summarize, what waivers and discounts are available, so that you can estimate upon submission what the costs will be at publication time.
1) Regional waivers and discounts for Article Processing Charges (APCs)
Corresponding authors based in lower-income countries will receive a 100% discount on the APC (full waiver). Corresponding authors based in lower-middle income countries will receive a 50% discount on the APC. All discounts will be automatically applied upon acceptance of the article. Authors are identified by their country of residence.
The list of countries and discounts, updated annually, is attached for your reference and will soon be available on the De Gruyter website.
Also see: https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-group
2) Inclusion of gold OA journals in institutional agreements
De Gruyters gold open access journals will be included in an increasing number of institutional agreements, also known as ‘Read and Publish’ deals. This means that corresponding authors affiliated with participating institutions will have their APCs prepaid, allowing them to publish their research via the open access route without additional charge.
Again, author’s eligibility will be automatically identified.
A number of agreements are already in place, for example with a selection of institutions in the Netherlands and the USA. A full list of agreements and institutions this applies to can be found on the De Gruyter website at https://www.degruyter.com/publishing/publications/openaccess/open-access-agreements?lang=en
3) Discretionary waivers on a case-by-case basis
i-com will also continue to offer discretionary waivers on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the editorial office. Please contact the Editor in Chief (michael.koch@unibw.de) if you need such a discount – and provide a short statement why you need the waiver/discount.