As Open Science Ambassador, I recently learned about the latest open access policy of the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences. This is not only a milestone worth celebrating in the university council, but a development with profound implications for our entire university, and one that deserves our collective support and consideration.

As of 1 January 2026, BSS has taken a bold and principled stand: staff may no longer publish in closed access publishing outlets, and the faculty will no longer allocate its primary budget to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs). Instead, researchers are encouraged to prioritize diamond open access or use green open access. Hybrid or full gold open access remain an option only when 100% of APCs are covered externally. Why does this matter? Let me briefly clarify some key terms and explain:

• Closed access publishing means research is locked behind paywalls. Readers must pay through subscriptions or licenses, and authors cannot make their work openly available to the public.

• Gold open access requires authors to pay often steep Article Processing Charges to publish openly

• Green open access allows authors to share their work for free by self-archiving, but the journal itself remains behind a paywall.

• Hybrid open access is the most problematic publishing model, known as “double-dipping”: publishers charge both subscription fees (paid by universities/taxpayers) and extra open-access fees for individual articles, basically making the public pay twice for the same content.

• Diamond open access is the most equitable publishing model: journals run by and for scientists, with no fees for authors or readers, ensuring research is accessible to all.

This policy at the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences is not just about access; it’s about ethics and sustainability. For too long, commercial publishing companies have transformed public funds—taxpayer money, university budgets, and the unpaid labor of academics—into massive profits and shareholder returns. These companies report enormous profit margins, while universities and libraries struggle to afford subscriptions, and researchers in less wealthy institutions or countries are locked out of the scientific conversation.

By prioritizing open access publishing via diamond and green open access, BSS is reclaiming control over the dissemination of knowledge, ensuring that research serves the public good, not private gain.

This policy is a powerful statement that knowledge should be shared, not sold; that science belongs to everyone, not just those who can pay. I hope this inspires other faculties and institutions to follow suit, and I look forward to seeing the impact of this decision on the accessibility and reach of BSS research.