The release of the Bengaluru Roadmap and Action Plan on Diamond Open Access marks a significant milestone in the global effort to transform scholarly publishing into a more equitable, community-driven system. Developed as the outcome of the 3rd Global Summit on Diamond Open Access held in Bengaluru, India, from February 2 to 6, 2026, the document provides a practical framework for advancing no-fee, community-governed open access models worldwide.
Understanding Diamond Open Access
Diamond Open Access refers to a scholar-led and community-owned model of scholarly publishing that charges no fees to authors or readers. It operates through non-commercial infrastructures, emphasizing equity, inclusion, sustainability, multilingualism, and bibliodiversity. Unlike other open access approaches that rely on article processing charges or subscriptions, this model treats scientific knowledge as a public good governed by the scholarly communities that produce it.
This approach aligns with broader international frameworks, including the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science from 2021 and the UN Global Digital Compact. It builds directly on earlier declarations from summits in Toluca, Mexico, in 2023 and Cape Town in 2024, which established foundational principles for community-led publishing.
The 3rd Global Summit in Bengaluru
The summit brought together 347 participants from 36 countries, with 168 attending in person and 179 joining online. Over five days of plenaries, workshops, and working groups, attendees addressed critical topics such as governance and sustainability of publishing infrastructure, research assessment reform, equity and multilingualism, support for early career researchers, metadata standards, repositories, preprints, and capacity building across regions and disciplines.
Hosted under the theme of collaboration for equitable digital infrastructures and knowledge commons, particularly in agriculture and broader scientific systems, the event highlighted India's growing role in shaping global open science policies. Coordinators included representatives from Science Europe and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
Core Elements of the Bengaluru Roadmap
The roadmap offers a flexible, adaptable framework rather than a rigid prescription. It recognizes diverse scholarly cultures, institutional setups, and policy environments while promoting a coherent global vision. Addressed to governments, funders, universities, evaluation bodies, libraries, and scholarly communities, it calls for coordinated action to redirect resources toward community-owned systems.
Key principles include transparent and accountable governance, protection against commercial acquisition of publicly funded infrastructure, and a care-centered approach that prioritizes relationships, reciprocity, and locally relevant scholarship over speed or volume metrics.
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Six Priority Action Areas
The document outlines six interconnected priority areas for implementation:
- Integrating Diamond Open Access into national policy and legal frameworks to embed it within science policies and direct public investment toward non-commercial systems.
- Redirecting publishing expenditure toward community-governed infrastructures, shifting from article processing charges and transformative agreements to sustained structural funding for platforms, repositories, and preservation services.
- Reforming research evaluation systems to recognize Diamond Open Access outputs, multilingual scholarship, and community-governed venues on equal terms with commercially indexed publications.
- Strengthening shared infrastructure and interoperability through open-source technologies, pooled resources, metadata standards, and persistent identifiers that serve all communities equitably.
- Recognizing and supporting the human labour behind scholarly communication, including editorial teams, reviewers, and repository managers, via training programs, workload recognition, and formal support structures.
- Promoting linguistic diversity and marginalised knowledge systems to ensure inclusive participation and bibliodiversity in global knowledge production.
These areas provide actionable guidance that stakeholders can tailor to their contexts while contributing to a unified global knowledge commons.
Implications for Researchers and Institutions
For academics and university administrators, the roadmap signals opportunities to participate in and benefit from sustainable publishing models that reduce financial barriers. Early career researchers stand to gain from evaluation reforms that value diverse outputs beyond traditional journal metrics. Institutions can explore redirecting library budgets or institutional funds toward supporting community platforms, fostering greater control over the scholarly communication ecosystem.
The emphasis on human infrastructure highlights the need for universities to integrate editorial and peer-review work into promotion and tenure processes, moving beyond viewing these as unpaid service obligations.
Global Context and Regional Adaptation
While the roadmap is global in scope, it acknowledges regional variations and encourages adaptation. In contexts like India, where the summit took place, there is potential for national policies to prioritize community-led initiatives in agriculture and other priority sectors. Similar efforts in Europe, Latin America, and Africa can draw on shared resources and interoperability frameworks to avoid fragmentation.
The document stresses inter-governmental coordination and collective oversight to maintain scholarly sovereignty over editorial processes, metadata, and dissemination systems.
Challenges and Pathways Forward
Transitioning to widespread Diamond Open Access faces hurdles such as entrenched commercial interests, metric-driven evaluation cultures, and the need for stable long-term funding. Short-term project grants often lead to precarity, underscoring the call for predictable structural investment from public and philanthropic sources.
Solutions proposed include innovative models like freemium services, pooled infrastructure to lower costs, and safeguards such as legal community ownership where feasible. Capacity-building through peer-learning networks and regional hubs will be essential to support under-resourced journals and institutions.
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Future Outlook and Next Steps
Implementation of the Bengaluru Roadmap will be reviewed at the 4th Global Summit scheduled for Bali, Indonesia, in December 2026. This ongoing series of summits fosters continued dialogue and refinement of strategies.
Stakeholders are invited to engage actively, contribute to evidence bases demonstrating the societal value of open knowledge, and participate in communities of practice. The roadmap positions Diamond Open Access as a pathway to restore scholarly communication to its public purpose, ensuring equitable participation in knowledge production for the benefit of society.
By aligning policies, investments, and evaluation practices, the global community can build resilient, inclusive infrastructures that prioritize the common good over commercial incentives.
Practical Steps for Academic Communities
Universities and research organizations can begin by auditing current publishing expenditures and identifying opportunities to support non-commercial platforms. Researchers might explore publishing in established Diamond Open Access venues and advocate for recognition of these outputs in institutional policies. Collaborative initiatives, such as shared editorial support hubs, offer scalable models for sustaining quality without fees.
These actions collectively advance a more just and sustainable scholarly ecosystem.