This post, an update to PKP’s Membership structure, is part of the inaugural issue of PKP’s Newsletter, “Archipelago”.
The Public Knowledge Project’s most widely used software, Open Journal Systems (OJS), is the backbone of over 34,000 journals worldwide, amounting to over 8 million published articles. The OA Diamond Journals Study shows estimates of OJS being used by 60% of the sampled journals.
PKP software, including Open Preprint Systems (OPS) and Open Monograph Press (OMP) is developed by and for scholarly communities. A testament to its impact is evident in SciELO Preprints celebrating 3 years of operations in 2023, and universities like TU Delft actively publishing open textbooks using OMP. Owing to its significant contributions in broadening access to and diversity in scholarly publishing, PKP software can be viewed as a driving force in the transformation toward more equitable knowledge sharing and scholarly communications landscapes.
Our Membership support helps to make these advancements possible, and sustainability is key to solidifying PKP’s open infrastructure as an integral part of scholar-led, community owned publishing. In our ongoing efforts for financial sustainability, PKP has revised our membership fee structure to:
- better accommodate our extensive global community;
- provide clarity on contribution amounts based on regional economic and institutional capacity;
- highlight values-aligned service providers (e.g., hosting, publication services, etc.);
- provide clarity on future inflationary increases so that libraries can plan for fair, predictable and transparent increases to fees;
- to establish a sustainable model that takes into account prevailing financial conditions, notably rapid inflationary pressure on the cost of expert staff and essential services.
As an inclusive, community-based, free and open source software development and research project, PKP is supported by a worldwide membership. We have established a model with two key pathways to support this inclusive endeavor:
- In-kind community contributions, such as code and plug-in development, translations, documentation, and participation on committees and interest groups;
- Financial contributions through paid memberships.
Both avenues help provide PKP with the necessary support to ensure the continuation of our work and the enhancement of our software that so many depend upon.
Membership fees account for nearly a third of PKP’s operating budget. We’re proud of this fact! Our members’ financial contributions allow PKP to develop and maintain critical open infrastructure for the diamond open access future we all desire.
We have plans to further build, develop, and enhance our software and services. We’ve listened to our community and we are committed to improving our support for open peer review, XML, enhanced accessibility, open data, multilingualism, and for many other features. To do this work, we must secure consistent and proportionate funding that aligns with the value we deliver.
The Institutional Annual Membership Fees, as well as Publisher and Service Provider Annual Fees, are outlined in the two tables below.
| INSTITUTIONAL ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE TABLE | ||||
| Small Institution | Medium Institution | Large Institution | National Level Institution | |
| Low Income and Lower Middle Income | $500.00 | $750.00 | $1,000.00 | $3,000.00 |
| Upper Middle Income | $1,000.00 | $2,000.00 | $4,000.00 | $6,000.00 |
| High Income | $2,500.00 | $5,000.00 | $10,000.00 | $15,000.00 |
| PUBLISHER AND SERVICE PROVIDER ANNUAL FEE TABLE | |
| Revenue | Membership Fee |
| >$2,000,000.00 | $50,000.00 |
| $1,000,000.00 | $25,000.00 |
| $500,000 – $999,999 | $10,000.00 |
| $250,000 – $499,999 | $5,000.00 |
| <$249,999 | $2,500.00 |
Note: the above economic categories are based on the World Bank’s Country and Lending Groups. PKP depends entirely on institutional self-declarations for the assessment of regional and institutional capabilities.
We hope you share our enthusiasm for this new model and will partner with us in crafting a collective vision for the future.
For our existing members, we’re looking forward to discussing these revisions with you at your next renewal period.
For those interested in becoming new members, please complete this brief form and we’ll be in touch! For more information about our Financial Contribution pathway to Membership, please visit: https://pkp.sfu.ca/about/sustainability/financial-contributors/
Jump to other newsletter sections
📌 Welcome to PKP’s Newsletter, Archipelago!
📌 Celebrating 25 years and collaborating for the future
📌 Country feature: ORCID and OJS in Indonesia
📌 PKP announces new Development Partnership with Sachsenkonsortium
