We’ve revised and updated our guide to support publishers of Diamond open access (OA) journals to enhance the quality of their journals and to encourage alignment with established best practices in scholarly publishing.

Titled ‘Quality in Diamond Open Access Publishing: guidelines, policies and templates’, the guide was written by Iryna Kuchma and Milica  Ševkušić, of the EIFL Open Access Programme, and first published in April 2025. The revised and updated version, published in October 2025, includes additional links to useful information for journal publishers and editors, clarifications and improvements to the original text. 

The guide builds on recognized frameworks such as the Basic Criteria for indexing in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), as well as the Best Practices Checklist for Diamond OA Publishers and the Diamond Open Access Standard (DOAS) developed by the DIAMAS project. (EIFL was a partner in the DIAMAS project.) 

WHAT’S IN THE GUIDE

Although not exhaustive, the guide offers a solid foundation for journals looking to improve their operations - 

• A summary of the essential elements of a Diamond OA journal
• Templates, including a comprehensive Journal Policies Template, as well as templates for Author Statements, Conflict of Interest Declarations and Licence Agreements
• Technical guidance on:
  • Key features for article landing pages and full-text articles
  • Proper display of licensing information
  • General website and accessibility considerations
  • Development of the guide was supported by the Wellcome Trust as part of the Collaboration for sustainable open access publishing in Africa project.

You can download the guide here.

Thank you to Aleš Pogačnik, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Ljubljana, Slovenia, who reviewed the updated version and also translated it into Slovenian.