The publication of scientific work is a cornerstone of scientific communication, but over the last century, scientific publishers have become increasingly involved with the scientific process, becoming central actors in deciding who can publish science, who can read science, and what excellent science is. Academic communities around the world have been negatively affected by this phenomenon, which is increasingly driven by profits and less by the pursuit of knowledge. There is broad agreement in academia that the publishing ecosystem must change, but charting the transition towards a new system that is inclusive, resilient, and sustainable is a major challenge.

With this in mind, the Leopoldina Working Group on the Future of Academic Publishing in Germany initially convened in 2024 and has met regularly since, publishing its first white paper on April 2025.  In it, authors from across academic fields in Germany propose a shift towards a Diamond Open Access system that is managed by academic societies and their journals, and supported by the DFG. This white paper was the center piece of an open symposium held  at the Leopoldina on June 2-3. Scientific societies, libraries, academics,and publishers participated in lively discussions on the benefits and issues in the proposed system. There was broad agreement that the system needs to change; charting a path towards this shift that considers the necessary technology and infrastructure, libraries, and academics will be the next stage of the working group.

Stephanie Jurburg
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ, Germany

The whole discussion paper can be found here: https://www.leopoldina.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Publikationen/Nationale_Empfehlungen/2025_Leo_Diskussionspapier_zur_Finanzierung_EN.pdf